Pat Leahy: Government is getting nervous about the contentious Occupied Territories Bill

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

52% : [ Occupied Territories Bill raised by US business lobby group in talks with MinisterOpens in new window ]Any delay, however, or even anything less than a full-throated commitment to early passage of the Bill by the new government will provoke a storm of protest from Opposition parties and non-governmental organisations who believe, with some evidence, that they have strong backing from the public.
50% : But according to multiple sources, including several Ministers, senior civil servants, advisers and TDs who spoke privately on the subject, there is a growing sense of trepidation about the potential costs in economic, political and diplomatic terms -- and a belief in decision-making circles that those costs will have to be properly assessed before the Bill proceeds.
44% : Sources report from Washington that the view in political and diplomatic circles is that the costs for Ireland will be "extremely severe", with the cancellation of the St Patrick's Day invite entirely possible.

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