Mayo County Council call on the Government to pass the Occupied Territories Bill

MAYO County Council passed a motion calling on the new Minister for Foreign Affairs, Helen McEntee TD, to immediately pass the Occupied Territories Bill.

Sinn Féin councillor Gerry Murray proposed the motion at the monthly meeting of Mayo County Council on Monday which called on the Council to oppose the exclusion of trade in services in the Occupied Territories Bill (OTB) and write to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Helen McEntee calling on her to include a ban on trade in services in the Government’s proposed OTB with immediate effect.

The motion was seconded by Independent councillor Harry Barrett and passed unanimously with little debate. Mayo County Council joins other local authorities including Sligo and Donegal which passed similar motions in recent weeks.

The motion was welcomed by the Mayo Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign who said its passing is a testament to the extraordinary work people all over the county have put in over recent weeks and months.

“We extend our thanks to Cllr Gerry Murray and Cllr Harry Barrett for bringing this motion forward, and to every councillor who allowed it to pass. Mayo has shown real leadership at a time when moral clarity is badly needed.

Charlestown-based councillor Gerry Murray proposed the motion

“This result reflects the tireless efforts of communities across the county: the phone calls, letters, research, newspaper articles, vigils and countless quiet conversations carried out by ordinary people. We especially want to acknowledge the women of Mayo, who have been central to this work, organising, educating and refusing to let compassion fade.

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“For many people in Mayo, however, the legal case was only part of the story. Our county understands dispossession. We remember famine, eviction, colonisation and forced migration. We know what it means for families to lose homes and land under pressure. That memory still lives in our landscape.

“Supporting this motion sends an important message to the Government. Mayo, and Ireland,should not be complicit in breaches of international law. We care about fairness and humanity, and we do not look away.

“We commend Mayo County Council for standing on the right side of human rights and international law. Yesterday, Mayo showed the best of who we are: a county shaped by hardship but defined by solidarity,” the statement read.

The OTB was introduced by Senator Frances Black in 2018 which sought to prevent goods and services from Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories from being imported into Ireland, based on international law.

The 2018 bill was superseded, in June 2025, by the Israeli Settlements (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025 which does not extend to trade in services with Israeli occupied territories.

However, on November 25, a joint opposition motion calling on the government to urgently pass the bill by the end of this year was carried in the Dáil.