Ireland must have nothing to do with Israeli war bonds says O’Callaghan

Ireland has a legal and moral obligation to completely disassociate itself from Israeli bonds, which are funding its murderous war machine, according to Social Democrats finance spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan.

The Dublin Bay North TD stated, “Israel is still issuing war bonds across the European Union and using this money to fund a genocide in Gaza. While our role in approving these bonds was moved to Luxembourg last year, Ireland remains the home member state for Israeli bonds.”

At yesterday’s Finance Committee, the Central Bank Governor indicated that Ireland may again have a role in approving Israeli bonds upon their potential renewal in September – or in moving that process to another country

O’Callaghan stated, “Ireland cannot be complicit in the sale of these bonds, and the government should not pretend that the transfer of approval to another member state absolves us of responsibility.”

“Our role as the home member state for these war bonds puts us in a legally compromised position. What’s more, it is morally wrong and against the wishes of the Irish people who have always stood with Palestine.

“We should have no part in raising money for a brutal regime that kills innocent people and steals their land,” he said.

Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan

“The Oireachtas Finance Committee produced a detailed report on the Central Bank’s role in facilitating Israeli bonds. It recommended that the Central Bank take all possible steps to suspend the offer of the prospectus under obligations to ‘prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territories’ – as outlined in the International Court of Justice’s opinion.

“Another recommendation was that the Government should consider what national restrictive measures are possible in relation to the approval of prospectuses by the Central Bank of Ireland.

“The government must now act on the committee’s recommendations to ensure we comply with our obligations under the Genocide Convention and end our association with these war bonds once and for all,” O’Callaghan said.