Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Harris has signaled that the Government will not ban trade in services with occupied territories under a forthcoming Bill.
He was asked repeatedly by Sinn Féin's Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire whether the work on the Occupied Territories Bill would include a ban on trade in services, given that the Programme for Government only cited a ban on goods.
Mr Harris said his priority and his mandate is to work to bring forward a ban on trade on goods with occupied territories.
Without specifically mentioning services, Mr Harris said the Government’s position was crystal clear.
He said the Bill brought forward by Independent Senator Frances Black required radical changes to ensure it did not fall foul of EU rules.
Independent TD Catherine Connolly criticised the language used in the Programme for Government on the Bill, where the commitment was only to "progress" the legislation.
She asked when the Bill would be enacted.
Tánaiste Simon Harris said he did not know when that would happen, but he repeated there was only a "narrow" legal pathway to pass the legislation.
