Voters have become more cautious on the Occupied Territories Bill in recent months, with almost half of all voters now favouring either not passing the Bill or investigating the possible consequences for Ireland before passing it.
Just one-fifth of voters (20 per cent) say the Bill should be passed quickly, with a further 14 per cent saying its scope should be expanded and it should be passed quickly.
About 38 per cent of people, however, say the Government “should investigate possible consequences for Ireland before passing the Bill”, while a further 10 per cent are opposed to passing the Bill at all.
The Bill, which is being discussed by the Oireachtas foreign affairs committee and is due before the Dáil in the autumn, would ban trade in goods with the occupied Palestinian territories.
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Pro-Palestine activists and Opposition parties want the Government to include a ban on trade in services – which Ministers have said they are open to examining.
However, the Bill has been fiercely criticised as anti-Semitic by the Israeli government, by US politicians and by representatives of Jewish groups in Ireland, not least because it singles out Israel among participants in many global conflicts.
There is significant nervousness in Government about the possible economic consequences of passing the legislation. There is also strong support, however, for the Palestinians and a sense that Ireland is taking a leading role in the EU in advocating on their behalf.
Today’s poll suggests that the public has shifted towards a more cautious position. When the subject was raised in the last Irish Times poll in April, a small majority of those who expressed a view said the Government should introduce the Bill as soon as possible, outnumbering those who favoured either pausing or dropping it altogether.
Today’s poll shows the balance has shifted. The “net pass” number – including those who want the Bill passed as it is now or with the inclusion of services – is 34 per cent; the “net don’t pass” number – including those who want to wait and consider the consequences and those who want to drop it altogether – is 48 per cent.
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The poll was conducted among a representative sample of adults aged 18 years and upwards across 120 sampling points throughout all constituencies.
The Irish Times/Ipsos B & A series is conducted through face-to-face sampling; personal in-home interviewing took place on July 14th and 15th. The number of interviews conducted was 1,200. The accuracy is estimated at plus or minus 2.8 per cent.
Meanwhile, head of employers’ group Ibec, Danny McCoy, citing concerns about the consequences for business, said the Bill was “hypocritical”.
“We’re not talking about millions here,” he declared. “This is not about actually helping in any material way. It’s symbolism and moral positioning, and so on. However, with moral positions, you can also reveal hypocrisy.”
Ireland’s stand on Israel is “well intentioned”, he said, but it is “causing us significant damage. Quantifying it is really difficult, but we know it is going to have consequences”.
[ Irish Times poll: Shift in public mood noted on Occupied Territories BillOpens in new window ]
The head of Amnesty International has urged Ireland to resist “bullying” from the US and pass the Bill, which she said would be a “precedent”, in the autumn.
After meetings with Taoiseach Micheál Martin, President Michael D Higgins and Attorney General Rossa Fanning, Agnes Callamard told The Irish Times she believed the Government’s assessment was that the costs would be “minimal”.
“I felt that there was a prudent recognition that the cost could be handled,” Ms Callamard said. “That it is not something that will be a determining factor.”
