The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Helen McEntee will bring the text of the long-awaited Occupied Territories Bill to Cabinet on Tuesday – but the draft legislation will provide for only goods, excluding services. McEntee will seek approval for the Bill, formally entitled Israeli Settlements (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2026 at the meeting of Government on Tuesday morning. It will give effect to the commitment set out in the Programme for Government to progress legislation to prohibit the import of goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.Once the Bill is enacted and commenced, the importation of goods originating in the settlements into Ireland will be an offence under section 14 of the Customs Act 2015.The Minister will seek to enact the Bill before the Dáil’s summer recess.McEntee is expected to tell Cabinet colleagues that Ireland has continually advocated for a peaceful resolution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and has consistently sought to progress implementation of the two-state solution. The Government has long held the view that Israel has no intention of reaching a peaceful resolution to the conflict or ending the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory. Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris met on Monday evening to discuss the content and import of the legislation.The Occupied Territories Bill was first published as a private members Bill by Independent Senator Frances Black in 2018 but has faced long delays because of drafting complexities and because of a long-standing debate on whether or not the ban should also include services, such as information and communication technology consultancies, financial and online services and Airbnb provision.The Bill has been the subject of prolonged and divisive differences between the Government and left-leaning parties over that issue of services. Minister for Children, Disability and Equality Norma Foley. Photograph: Conor Ó Mearáin/Collins Separately, the State may introduce a standardised model to assess autism if a new process being brought to Cabinet is approved by Government. Minister for Children, Disability and Equality Norma Foley and Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill will bring a memorandum proposing a new assessment process for both children and adults.The Autism Assessment and Intervention Pathways Protocol has been developed following consultations with autistic people, clinicians and HSE staff. If approved, it will result in the first standardised autism-assessment model across the HSE and all State-funded agencies. The new system should allow for an increase in autism assessments.Minister for Further and Higher Education James Lawless will seek Cabinet approval for a major overhaul of the State’s international scholarships, including the Mitchell scholarships. Lawless has proposed a new Government of Ireland “Global Gaels” Scholarship Programme. This would see the number of scholarships increase from 60 to 100 by 2031. The programme is expected to place greater emphasis on research excellence, critical skills shortages and strategic international partnerships.Minister of State for Mental Health Mary Butler, along with Carroll MacNeill, will also seek Government approval for a new 10-year national suicide and self-harm reduction strategy. The Tánaiste will update ministers on the National Financial Literacy Strategy. It incudes an action plan containing more than 100 measures designed to improve financial capability and consumer awareness.Harris will also convene a National Financial Literacy Stakeholder Forum in the coming weeks, where the updated strategy and action plan will be formally launched.Separately, Minister for Communications Patrick O’Donovan will brief ministerial colleagues on plans for a Youth Forum on Online Safety. The forum is due to take place at the National Concert Hall on June 2nd.The event will bring together approximately 100 young people, aged between 10 and 17, from across the country to discuss their experiences online. Possible ways to improve digital safety will be examined.The findings are expected to inform domestic policy development as well as preparations for Ireland’s upcoming EU presidency work on online safety. O’Donovan proposed a State-run digital wallet following the controversy over a nudification AI application that was available on X. Australia’s decision to restrict social media for under-16s also influenced O’Donovan’s approach to the matter.