Ireland asked to clarify role in approving Israeli state bonds after Luxembourg exits

Ireland's Central Bank is being pressed to clarify whether responsibility for approving Israeli state bonds has returned to Dublin after Luxembourg let its authorisation lapse. Luxembourg did not renew the approval when it expired at midnight, leaving Israel to seek another European regulator to take on the role. The issue matters because the authorisation is part of the process that allows Israeli state bonds to be marketed to investors in European markets.

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According to the information provided, Luxembourg had held the role since September 2025. The Central Bank of Ireland said only that the arrangement between Israel and Luxembourg's financial regulator, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, expired on Tuesday. It did not confirm whether it was now reassuming the responsibility.

The Bank of Israel would have needed to submit an application for its prospectus to Ireland by the end of August if the Irish regulator was to take over again. The development has immediate implications for Israel's borrowing arrangements in Europe. Without a regulator willing to approve the prospectus, the state would need another country to take on the task in order to continue raising funds from European investors.

The Central Bank of Ireland had previously been designated the "home" state for this responsibility after the United Kingdom left the European Union, making the question of who now holds the file a regulatory issue with cross-border financial consequences. The matter has also become politically sensitive in Ireland. In July, the Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, Gabriel Makhlouf, told the Oireachtas Finance Committee that the institution had acted lawfully in its handling of the bonds.

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He rejected claims that the bank could have prevented the bonds from being issued last year and said he did not believe he could stop them being issued again this year. Sinn Féin's public expenditure spokesperson and chair of the committee, Mairéad Farrell, has called for urgent clarity on whether a renewal request has been received and accepted. The row sits within a wider debate over Ireland's role in the approval process for Israeli state bonds.

The issue has drawn scrutiny because the prospectus approval is a technical regulatory function, but one that has taken on political significance amid criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza. Sinn Féin has argued that Ireland should not remain the home state for the bonds, while the government has been accused by critics of failing to act on the issue for more than a year. The Central Bank's position is therefore being watched not only as a financial regulation question, but also as a test of how Irish institutions handle politically charged cross-border market arrangements.

What remains unclear is whether Israel has formally asked Ireland to take over the authorisation again, and whether the Central Bank has accepted any such request. It is also not yet confirmed whether another European regulator will step in instead. The next development will likely depend on any statement from the Central Bank of Ireland or the Bank of Israel about the prospectus process and who, if anyone, will approve the bonds for the coming period.

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