Questions raised over spike in Irish exports to Israel as Middle East tensions escalate
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Serious questions have been raised around Ireland's trade links with Israel, with Irish exports spiking in the first five months of this year.
The figures come as Tánaiste Micheál Martin “urged” Irish citizens in Lebanon to get commercial flights out amid fears that Israeli retaliation to a rocket attack could spark a wider military conflict.
Mr Martin said Irish citizens need to be aware that if the security situation deteriorates that “we may be limited in the assistance we can provide”.
However, the latest figures reveal that trade between Israel and Ireland does not appear to have been impacted by continued attack on Gaza and mounting tensions in the wider Middle East.
The value of goods exported under the ‘machinery and transport equipment’ category, which includes electronic items such as microchips, has dramatically increased so far this year, with €315m worth of items sent to Israel up to May of this year.
This far outstrips the overall value of machinery and transport equipment exported to Israel last year, with the total amounting to €181m for the whole of 2023.
The Irish and Spanish governments have already called on European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to carry out an urgent review of whether Israel is complying with its human rights obligations under the EU/Israel Association Agreement.
Ireland exported almost €550m worth of products to Israel up to May of this year, with imports totalling more than €1.5bn in the same period, according to data provided by the CSO.
The latest trade figures reveal that the value of goods exports to Israel in 2023 was €511m, but by May of this year the value of goods exported had already reached €495m.
Most categories of exports to Israel are on track to perform either the same or slightly lower than last year.
However, along with machinery and transport, the value of exports of "miscellaneous manufactured articles" is also considerably up from €24m for the whole of last year, to €33m across the first five months of 2024.
"There are serious questions to answer by Irish-based companies supplying Israel's genocide, and if they are being underpinned by State assistance, through the form of IDA or Enterprise Ireland supports," said Cork city councillor Peter Horgan.
The most recent data available from the CSO also shows that the value of goods imports from Israel across 2023 was €3.6bn. Up to May of this year, €1.5bn worth of goods had been imported.
Services trade data for individual countries is not yet available for 2023 or 2024.
Mr Horgan again called on the Government to pass the Occupied Territories Bill in the Dáil and for the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement on human rights grounds at European level.
“The people of Cork have marched against the slaughter of innocents for over 43 weeks,” he said.
Military tensions continue to escalate in the Middle East after a missile struck a football pitch in Israeli-seized territory in the Golan Heights, killing at least 12 civilians, including children, at the weekend.
Irish troops serving in a UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon “continue to perform their duties” amid fears of retaliation.
In a statement, the Defence Forces (DF) declined to give an insight into security assessments being conducted by officers in Lebanon, but stated: “Despite current operational challenges, the DF personnel serving with 124 Inf Bn continue to perform their duties as peacekeepers on behalf of the UN and the international community.”