A Donegal-based group calling for the end of the ongoing genocide in Palestine has labelled two of the county’s TDs as “out of touch”.
It’s after a Sinn Fein bill calling for an end of Ireland’s involvement in selling Israeli war bonds was voted down by Fine Gael and Fianna Fail TDs in the Dail this week.
Donegal County Council was one of many bodies nationwide that expressed support for the bill, the Council’s members unanimously voting in favour of the end of Ireland’s involvement of such sales.
The sales of Israeli war bonds are believed to raise at least one billion dollars a year – money that Israel is expressly using to fund the destruction of Gaza and the murder of innocent civilians.
While the Government claimed such a bill would not be feasible, a legal opinion offered by the Oireachtas Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers stated that the bill would likely be constitutional.
Two Regional Independent TDs who are aligned with the Government voted in favour of the bill – however Fianna Fail and Donegal TD Charlie McConalogue joined his party colleagues in voting the bill down.
Fellow Fianna Fail and Government TD Pat “The Cope” Gallagher was not present for the vote, which was defeated by 87 votes to 75.
The Donegal branch of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) has said this week that they are both “out of touch” with the will of the people in Donegal.
“We are shocked and dismayed that the government has yet again stepped back from taking concrete action that would have put real pressure on Israel to end its ongoing genocide in Gaza which has killed over 54,000 civilians, mostly women and children,” the organisation said in a statement.
“On Monday the 26th of May Donegal County Council unanimously passed a motion calling on the Central Bank to end all complicity in genocide and to immediately end the regulation of the regulation of the Israeli Bond Issuance Programme on behalf of the EU.”
“On Wednesday night Minister Charlie McConalogue voted with his Government colleagues to block the Sinn Fein, Restrictive Financial Measures (State of Israel) Bill 2025 which would have enabled the government to block the Central Bank selling (these) bonds which have raised over $5 billion for Israel’s bombs, bullets, tanks, planes, drones, and a campaign of displacement and starvation, that has laid waste to the Gaza strip and has been declared a genocide and a crime against humanity by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the UN’s International Commission of Inquiry on Palestine.”
The IPSC say that it once again demonstrates the Irish Government’s unwillingness to take concrete action and stop the facilitation of the Palestinian genocide.
“Despite the leadership Ireland has shown in condemning Israel it has failed again and again to take concrete actions that would bring actual pressure to bear on Israel. It has been blocking and prevaricating on the Occupied Territories Bill since 2018 and is only now drafting a watered down version that may not pass through the Oireachtas until the Autumn,” they said.
“It is abundantly clear that the Irish public stands firmly behind this Bill. The Central Bank must not be permitted to facilitate the sale of Israel’s Genocide Bonds. The Government cannot keep hiding behind spurious legal arguments to avoid taking action.”
“The ICJ, the highest legal authority in the world, has ruled that third states have an obligation not to assist the commission of genocide, or the maintenance of illegal occupation. Passing this Bill is the bare minimum Ireland could have done to meet those obligations.”
“The Government has been hiding behind spurious legal opinions to avoid taking action. The EU may have found that Wednesday’s Bill was in fact contrary to EU law, but they have blocked the possibility that we could have found out.”
“Instead it has chosen to avoid Ireland’s responsibility under international law and the opinion of the ICJ that all institutions are under obligation under international law to prevent genocide and abuse of human rights.”
“Meanwhile the Government has turned a blind eye to the transit of arms to Israel through Irish airspace, allowing the US Air Force to use Shannon Airport in furtherance of American support for Israel.”
“We call on Minister McConalogue and Deputy Gallagher to uphold the democratically expressed will of the people of Donegal and Donegal’s County Councillors who unanimously passed the motion to end the central banks war bonds, and Ireland’s complicity in these war crimes and crimes against humanity. It is time to get on the right side of history and do the right thing, even if it may be contrary to some legal opinion.”
