Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 May 2021
168. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress made to include reference in all new statements of strategy to all sustainable development goal targets for which his Department has lead responsibility as outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals National Implementation Plan 2018-2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25746/21]
View answerThe UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a significant and ambitious policy agenda that concerns all Government Departments.
The first National Implementation Plan (2018-2020), published in 2018, set out Ireland’s strategy to achieve the SDGs both domestically and internationally. The Goals are mainstreamed in domestic policy and the governance structure reflects a whole-of-government approach and ensures coordination and coherence, in particular where goals cover areas of shared responsibility.
19 Actions were included in the first National Implementation Plan. Action 4 of the plan set out a commitment to include reference in all new Statements of Strategy to all SDG targets for which a Department has lead responsibility.
The development of the next SDG Implementation Plan has commenced, with the intention of publication later this year. A National Progress report will be incorporated into the Plan and will assess the progress on the 19 Actions, including the commitment set out under Action 4.
My Department published it Statement of Strategy 2021-2023 in February of this year. The strategy was developed in the context of my Department’s role in contributing to the SDGs. Goal 5 of the Statement of Strategy commits the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment to advancing the green transition in enterprise and to honouring its Climate Action commitments. The six SDG targets for which my Department had responsibility for at the time of the Statement’s publication are specifically referenced in setting out how the Department will achieve this goal. The role of the SDGs goes beyond Goal 5 and sustainability has acted as a guiding principle across the Statement as a whole. This can be seen in Goal 1 which aims to achieve a strong recovery and sustainable economic development; Goal 2 which aims to promote safety, better pay and conditions, more secure jobs and gender equality in the workplace and Goal 4 which aims to deepen and extend Ireland’s Global business and trade in a fair and sustainable manner.
Since the publication of the Statement of Strategy my Department has taken responsibility for an additional two targets under the SDG National Implementation Plan. These are target 8.8 which relates to the protection of labour rights, and target 10.a relating to implementation of special and differential treatment for developing countries. These changes in responsibility are reflected in the recently updated SDG Policy Map available on gov.ie.
