Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 March 2021
461. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on his plans to deepen Ireland’s engagement with small island developing nations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13467/21]
View answerSmall Island Developing States (SIDS) are an important global constituency which is disproportionately impacted by climate change and the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ireland's Strategy for Partnership with Small Island Developing States (SIDS) was launched in June 2019 by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney TD. The Strategy set out a multi-strand approach to deepening Ireland’s relationships with SIDS, building on diplomatic, bilateral, multilateral, and international development links, and fostering closer bonds between our peoples. A partnership approach has been central to the formulation and ongoing implementation of the Strategy, with SIDS consulted regularly to ensure it is relevant to their priorities.
The Strategy is grounded in the ambition set out in The Global Island and Global Ireland to expand our influence and also reflects the commitment in A Better World to strengthen our relationship with SIDS, especially those most vulnerable to climate impact, and to support initiatives which respond to the specific challenges they face. Most recently, the Programme for Government - Our Shared Future – reiterated Ireland’s commitment to deepen its relationship with SIDS.
The SIDS’ Strategy contains 36 commitments, of which 32 have been fully or partially implemented. They include:
- The establishment of a SIDS’ Unit within the Department of Foreign Affairs to lead on SIDS’ policy.
- A SIDS Fellowship Programme to bring promising individuals from SIDS to Ireland for Master’s-level study.
- A Trust Fund at the Asian Development Bank to support Asian and Pacific SIDS in projects related to climate resilience and disaster risk reduction. €12 million will be contributed to this fund between 2019-2024.
- The establishment of regular dialogues (dubbed CeilI) between Ireland and SIDS to inform our policy positions within the EU, UN and other multilateral fora. An early example was a dialogue between the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and SIDS’ representatives at the Our Ocean Wealth conference in Cork in 2019. In addition, a regular cycle of meetings has been developed between the Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, T.D. and his Caribbean counterparts at the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings in Washington DC. This is particularly relevant given that Ireland shares a World Bank Constituency with the Caribbean States.
- Irish support for the SAMOA pathway within the UN, which aims to ensure SIDS-related issues remain high on the UN agenda and to support sustainable development in SIDS - not least by mitigating the effects of climate change. The mid-term review of the process was co-facilitated by Ireland's Ambassador to the UN in New York, Ambassador Geraldine Byrne-Nason, with President Higgins addressing a SIDS’ Summit at the UN. In 2020 Ireland funded the recruitment of an expert to work on SIDS issues within the UN Secretariat.
In addition to these measures, in 2020 my Department undertook its first-ever SIDS-specific humanitarian response, working through the International Federation of the Red Cross and Asian Development Bank in the area of pandemic preparedness and education in SIDS. Ireland provided €3.4m for these activities.
Ireland is also working to deepen our bilateral policy engagement with SIDS and last October I launched a series of dialogues aimed at bringing together sectoral experts from Ireland and SIDS to discuss policy in areas of mutual interest. Last week I hosted a dialogue on Diaspora engagement with representatives of 12 Caribbean and African SIDS and I will host a second dialogue with Pacific States at the end of the month.
The development and implementation of the Strategy has helped Ireland to deepen its relationship with SIDS and we are perhaps more engaged with this important group than ever before. Importantly, the structures we have put in place will ensure the sustainability of these efforts over the years to come.
