Ireland Sent Dual-Use Tech Worth €20m to Israel Despite Genocide

Ireland approved the export of technology worth at least €20m (£17.3m) to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and other state bodies in 2024, at the height of Israel’s military assault on Gaza. 

Despite the country’s reputation as an ally in the Palestinian struggle, Irish ministers from the centre-right coalition government only stopped granting export licences for dual-use technology in 2025.

The data was uncovered via Freedom of Information requests from the Currency and the Wall Street Journal. 

Dual-use products like computers and software have both civilian and military capabilities. Each needs its own licence and must be individually signed off by a minister. At least 11 dual-use licences worth €35m were exported to Israel between 2020 and 2024, €20m of that in 2024 alone. 

“I am absolutely disgusted that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil could have allowed trade and production of dual-use technology to have occurred with Israel at the height of its illegal war on Gaza,” said Duncan Smith, a lawmaker with Ireland’s Labour party.  

“How low can this government go? It is beyond belief. What is even more concerning is that this practice was stopped in 2025, not in 2024. Did government wilfully turn a blind eye to what was happening?”

Ireland’s Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment denied all applications for licences in 2025, documents show, stating a “clear risk the item(s) could be used to assist the commission of serious violations of international humanitarian law”.

A government spokesperson told the Currency that all applications are “considered on a case-by-case basis in accordance with criteria set out within the relevant dual-use and military EU and national regulations, and with Ireland’s international obligations and responsibilities”.

Ireland is considered one of Palestine’s biggest allies in Europe. It was the first EU member to call for Palestinian statehood in 1980 and refused to open an Israeli embassy until 1993. 

As a former British colony, many Irish people relate to the plight of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, according to the Institute of Race Relations. 

Ireland’s commitment to the Palestinian cause has previously been called into question by the US military’s ongoing use of Shannon Airport on Ireland’s west coast. Between January 2024 and last month, Al Jazeera reports, at least 1,300 planes connected to the US military have flown within 60km of the airport, including 45 flights to or from Israel. 

Sophia Sheera is a journalist in Novara Media’s social media team.