The latest bond prospectus issued by Israel has been approved by Luxembourg and not the Central Bank in Ireland.
A document published by the State of Israel bond issuance programme says it has now been approved for fundraising in the EU by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
It has authorised the prospectus as the competent authority under EU legislation.
The development follows significant political pressure on the Central Bank from the Opposition and campaigners on the Central Bank to refuse to authorise prospectuses issued by Israel.
Central Bank Governor Gabriel Makhlouf confirmed the development in a letter to chairperson of the Oireachtas Committee on Finance Mairéad Farrell today.
The last authorisation of prospectuses by the Central Bank in Ireland expired today.
The bank has said it was legally obliged to approve the documentation if it met requirements.
Israel issues prospectuses to potential investors in sovereign bonds, which it sells as a mechanism to borrow money.
The documentation used to be approved by the UK for the EU as a whole but Israel then switched to Ireland after Brexit.
This weekend Sinn Féin said if the approval is renewed for another year the Central Bank will continue to facilitate the sale of bonds across the EU.
It has called on the Government to stop the Central Bank “enabling the sale” of Israeli bonds.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party has claimed that an arm of the State was “tacitly complicit” in Israel’s fundraising.
The Government had consistently backed the Central Bank’s position that it is obliged to approve the documentation issued by Israel if it meets certain criteria.
Earlier this year the Coalition rejected a private members bill by Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty seeking to prevent the Central Bank authorising bond documentation.
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said the Government “would not be found wanting” and has been calling on Israel to comply with international law.
Last month the cross-party Oireachtas Committee on Finance called on the Central Bank to review whether in can turn down any requests from Israel to authorise prospectuses.
