FINE Gael councillor Peter Doyle believes that those calling on a boycott of trade in services with illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory should first talk with CEOs of American companies to ensure the safety of jobs in Limerick.
Cllr Doyle took issue with a motion from Social Democrats councillor Elisa O’Donovan at the recent full meeting of Limerick Council.
Cllr O’Donovan had called on the Government to amend the Prohibition of Goods Bill to include trade in services with Israeli settlements, but Doyle offered a “word of caution”.
“Firstly, I’d like to condemn the actions of the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza and Palestine, and I would also like to condemn the actions of Hamas on October 7th, who started this bloody war and slaughtered 1,200 people,” Cllr Doyle commented.
“Taoiseach Micheál Martin has stated that to include the services in this proposed legislation will do much more harm to Ireland than to Israel. He is being most cautious about the impact on foreign direct investment into Ireland.”
The Fine Gael councillor said he would “encourage people maybe to discuss this matter with CEOs of American companies in Limerick before we rush into passing this legislation”.
“We have about 18,000 students in UL with about 5,000 graduates coming out each year. We are facing many challenges in trying to attract new employment to this country due to the impacts of AI and cutbacks in IT. I would take the advice of the Taoiseach here and say that this motion will cause more damage to Ireland than to Israel, as the volume of services coming from this area is minuscule.”
During discussion of the motion, Social Democrats councillor Shane Hickey-O’Mara took issue with Fianna Fáil members laughing in the Dooraodyle chamber.
“We’re watching a genocide, and we know this to be true,” he hit out.
“Were you that upset when Eoin Hayes made €199,000 out of his shares?” Fianna Fáil man Ger Ward retorted.
Cllr Kieran O’Hanlon took issue with the motion being on a Limerick Council agenda, considering it something more for debate in the Dáil or United Nations. He said that while he agreed with the spirit of the proposal, their job as councillors is to bring better services to Limerick.
“There are thousands of jobs in multinationals here in Limerick, and it’s fine saying we should take a principle to stand, but I don’t want to be taking stands that are going to put people out of work. A lot of the multinationals are American, and we do know that they are controlled by people from Israel or from the Jewish community,” Cllr O’Hanlon suggested.
Sinn Féin councillor Sharon Benson warned that if there are no consequences to genocide, then genocide will continue.
“I think we should be upset, not just here in the chamber, but all around. If more people were upset around the world, we might not be having this conversation today,” she said.
Independent councillor Eddie Ryan said that while this motion might be considered irrelevant or insignificant to some, saying nothing is not the answer, offering: “Of course, we don’t want to lose jobs, but at what price?”
“The people in Gaza, what Israel has imposed on them, but my God almighty, you look at the television every night and all we’re looking at is rubble and bombs dropped indiscriminately on innocent people, children, men, women, the whole lot. So saying nothing is not acceptable.”
– Local Democracy Reporting Scheme