A call has come from Laois County Council for the Government to put in place measures that would require businesses selling products from Israel or Russia to clearly identify the products as Israeli or Russian.
Independent Cllr Aisling Moran tabled the motion at the January meeting of Laois County Council earlier this week.
Cllr Moran said such an initiative would “allow the public to make a clear and informed decision when purchasing.
“Up until 2020, Ireland was importing between €100 million and €140 million from Israel. In 2021, that shot up to just under €3 billion.
“In 2022, we took in €5.02 billion from Israel, according to the UN Comtrade Database – that’s a serious amount of money, and I’m sure a portion of this money is funding their defence forces for the war.
“Government is not making a stand on this, but maybe this is a way of giving people the power to choose for themselves.
“It’s a small step, but a step in the right direction.”
Fellow Independent Cllr James Kelly supported the motion, saying:
“What Hamas did was shocking and barbaric, but the reply from Israel was shocking and ten times as barbaric.
“€5 billion is what we’ve imported and look at some of the stuff: plastics, perfumes, cosmetics, fruits and vegetables, furniture, computer parts, and planes and helicopters.”
Cllr Kelly also asked that Russia be included in the proposal, saying Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the the reason there are big issues with Ukrainian refugee numbers in Ireland.
“A lot of our imports from Russia, which is €600 million, include petrol, fertiliser, coal and briquettes – which is banned from being manufactured here.
“So, there’s double-standards here from the Government.”
The Ministers who will be contacted on the matter are Simon Coveney TD, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and Neale Richmond TD, Minister of State for Employment Affairs and Retail Businesses.
There was also support from Sinn Féin Cllr Aidan Mullins.
“Nobody could justify the actions of Hamas and the slaughter of innocent people, but it’s the response from Israel.
“Particularly when I think of what the Jewish people themselves went through in the second World War, where there was mass extermination and genocide of the Jewish people by the Germans at the time.
“For the Jewish people to have suffered that and to be behaving in a very similar fashion themselves now with the Palestinians is very hard to comprehend.
“I think the Government should step up more and I’m sorry we didn’t join South Africa in their attempts last week.
“We should not be supporting these economies which will help purchase guns and weaponry in the war that they are raging.”
