I do not believe that Russia, China or the United Kingdom or for that matter the United States or France should dictate Irish foreign policy or should dictate when we do or do not deploy troops.

• Micheál Martin

Micheál Martin has repeatedly misrepresented the status of legislation that would ban trade with Israeli settlements deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Speaking at the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence in November, Martin said the attorney general had “advised that the bill, in its present form, is incompatible with EU law and the constitution”. In January he said "virtually every section" needed amendment. He’s announced government’s intention to replace it on that basis – but it’s not a priority this Dáil term.

The Ditch reported last week that attorney general Rossa Fanning's advice to government contradicts Martin’s public statements. 

Fanning told Martin, Simon Harris and Roderic O’Gorman that minor changes were required for the bill to comply with Bunreacht na hÉireann. He also said Ireland could potentially beat legal challenges at an EU level in the unlikely event the European Commission or another country issued one against the state.

Fanning went further. He said it would be "a political choice as to whether to propose committee stage amendments to the existing bill or instead to publish an entirely new bill”. He saw "a stronger and more defensible legal basis" for Ireland to justify the legislation on public policy grounds and said – referring to legal advice he commissioned – a separate bill outlawing  state investment in businesses operating in illegal settlements could be defended. Government has consistently blocked the latter, with minister for finance Paschal Donohoe saying “further analysis” is needed.  

The attorney general explained, in detail, his thinking on the legality of the Occupied Territories Bill. The catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and the July ICJ ruling that Israeli settlements are illegal reinforce Ireland's position if taken to court in Europe. Government could argue the bill is "necessary to uphold respect for the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms and respect for human dignity". Ireland has "a strong argument" that prohibiting trade with illegal settlements aligns with the guiding principles of the EU, according to Fanning. 

Whether you agree or disagree with Fanning’s assessment, Martin has not been honest about the legal advice he received. (Don’t take my word for it: we published the full thing yesterday because we believe the public has a right to know when the state is lying to them.) Government has no will to implement the Occupied Territories Bill. And the Irish political establishment wants to naturalise this fact, to render it above and beyond politics.

Government is terrified of the United States, a nation with which we enjoy a "special relationship". Martin fears it will target Ireland if we do anything – even rhetorically – to undermine US interests.

Earlier this month US vice president JD Vance travelled to Munich where he gave a speech effectively endorsing the far right Alternative für Deutschland party ahead of Germany's elections. Vance – who in private has compared Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler – warned European leaders about "the danger within”. He decried threats to "freedom of speech; we know he's not serious about free expression because his administration wants to deport students for criticising Israel.

Vance’s remarks outraged the EU, with several senior figures accusing him of everything from election interference to undermining democratic values. Martin, typically inclined to echo his good friends in Brussels – his allies – was more reserved in his response. Speaking to RTÉ last week the taoiseach refused to criticise the VP. “The litmus test of democracy and freedom of speech is people articulating different perspectives and different views,” he said. “I would not agree with the vice president in respect of his analysis of the robustness of European democracy.”

This kind of timidity has informed his approach to Israel. Last year the US ambassador to Ireland emailed the taoiseach and tánaiste warning them of "consequences" for enacting the Occupied Territories Bill. Less than two hours later government announced the legislation would be "reviewed," not implemented. Six years prior Paschal Donohue took part in “confidential” phone call with his Israeli counterpart in which the then finance minister said the Irish government would block attempts to ban trade with illegal settlements. The state operates like this out of public view – with quiet assurances it will work to maintain the interests of the US and its vassals.     

Free State sovereignty is largely a myth: a bill that successfully passed through both the Dáil and the Seanad cannot be implemented because our elected representatives are too afraid of a confrontation with the US. Government ignores commercial cargo airlines illegally transporting weapons through Irish airspace because it fears disrupting foreign military supply chains. US military aircraft continue to refuel at Shannon Airport, violating Irish neutrality against the wishes of the general population.

Successive governments have entrenched an economic dependency on the US to such an extent that Ireland is a de facto colony, incapable of formulating an independent foreign policy.

None of this is talked about in terms of sovereignty. In Leinster House it’s often regarded as the cost of attracting foreign direct investment and corporate tax returns. Ministers admit it when they won't be identified, as several did last year speaking to the Irish Times.

Sovereignty only emerges as a subject for discussion when the prospect of further integrating Ireland into western – that is largely American – imperial structures arises. The triple lock, which just means Ireland needs UN approval to deploy more than 12 soldiers abroad, is a threat to Irish sovereignty because Russia and China might interfere in our foreign policy. Yet neocolonial dependency on the US, allowing Donald Trump to determine how Ireland responds to a genocide, is reality.

According to some newspaper reports, government isn’t sure if it will attend the White House this St. Patrick’s Day – a catastrophe for the comprador political class, who regard it as their duty to facilitate the exploitation of Ireland by foreign capitalists. 

Prostration of this nature is presented to the public as a kind of apolitical national duty, an inevitability that simply must be done. Therefore opposing it, for whatever reason, is to unduly politicise. When Sinn Féin announced it would not attend next month, Martin accused them – the largest opposition party in the state – of “engaging in politics”, something forbidden when it comes to US interests. “We have an obligation to protect the livelihoods of many, many people in this country and to engage and discuss and profile the level of Irish investment in the US,” he said.

Like the British colonists in the south before them, Americans assert their dominance as a kind of state of nature, the way things simply are. Power is sustained through narratives that normalise Ireland’s subordination, presenting it as both natural and beneficial to us. Martin’s efforts to undermine the Occupied Territories Bill are not merely political cowardice – they are the execution of his duties as a viceroy for the US empire.

Ireland could end our investment and trade relationships with illegal settlements. But Micheál Martin’s job isn't to uphold international law. It's to serve foreign capital.

https://www.ontheditch.com/comment-the-occupied-territories-bill/

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         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

SEE ALSO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAEr22-WfVw