Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 May 2021
323. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the specific sustainable development goal targets his Department is responsible for implementing; the progress made in implementing those targets since 26 April 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25772/21]
View answerOverall political oversight for national SDG implementation is provided through the Cabinet, with each Minister having specific responsibility for implementing individual SDG targets related to their Ministerial functions. The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) has responsibility for promoting the SDGs, and for overseeing their coherent implementation across Government.
The first National Implementation Plan (2018-2020), published in 2018, set out Ireland’s strategy to achieve the SDGs both domestically and internationally. An important element of this Plan is the SDG Policy Map and Matrix, which identified the lead and stakeholder Departments for each of the Goals and targets and also mapped national sectoral policies against the 17 SDGs and all 169 related targets, in order to identify which policies were most relevant to which SDGs and their associated targets.
The SDG Policy Map and Matrix enhances the ability of stakeholders to track Ireland’s implementation of specific SDGs and associated targets, and to assess Ireland’s response to the SDGs for potential policy gaps. It also supports and enhances cross-Government engagement in implementing each of the Goals and Targets. This policy map has recently been updated and is available online at gov.ie.
The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Group specifically leads on two specific sub-actions under Sustainable Development Goals 9 and 12. These sub-actions relate to the delivery of resilient and sustainable infrastructure, and promoting of sustainable public procurement practices respectively. The following sections provide an update on the latest guiding policies and work programmes that are being progressed to meet the requirements of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Sub-action under SDG goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Update on building resilient and sustainable infrastructure
The current guiding policy is Project Ireland 2040, which consists of my Department’s National Development Plan (NDP) 2018 – 2027 and the National Planning Framework as led by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The current NDP sets out total investment of approximately €116 billion across all sectors and this will allow Ireland to move close to the top of the international league table for public investment.
Climate Action and Sustainability were core to the design of both the NDP and the National Planning Framework. Both policies address 10 key National Strategic Objectives, with one of the strategic outcomes identified being “Transition to a Low Carbon and Climate Resilient Society”. As a result, €21.8 billion has been prioritised for investment in the low carbon transition, with a further €8.6 billion allocated for investment in sustainable public transport. Specific investments identified include flagship investment programmes such as supports for energy efficiency and retro-fitting, to the delivery of major new public transport projects such as MetroLink and BusConnects. In addition, the €500 million Climate Action Fund is also providing funding on a competitive basis for initiatives that contribute to the achievement of Ireland’s climate and energy targets or offer the potential for innovative interventions in these sectors. More generally the approach to sustainable compact growth that is set out in the National Planning Framework and the NDP will support a more balanced pattern of development across the country. This will put an end to the urban sprawl of the past and support greater sustainability and climate resilience.
As you may be aware, a review of the NDP is currently taking place. In line with the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals, this review is focused on how Project Ireland 2040 can be further supported to deliver on the policy priorities in the Programme for Government, particularly climate action. The NDP Review is also focused on balanced regional growth and alignment with Ireland's spatial strategy of NPF. The Phase 1 report of the NDP review was published on April 4th 2021, and forms part of the evidence base for finalising the drafting of the revised NDP. Phase 2 of the review will be a revised NDP setting ten year capital ceilings out to 2030 alongside five year rolling departmental capital ceilings and priorities and is planned to be published in Summer 2021.
Sub-action under SDG goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Update on the promotion of sustainable public procurement practices
Metrics are key to enable monitoring and verification of any measures introduced aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of public works projects. In this regard the Office of Government Procurement is currently engaged with the International Construction Measurement Standard (ICMS) coalition in the development of an international reporting system for whole life carbon in the built environment. The ICMS coalition anticipate that ICMS 3rd Edition, incorporating Life Cycle Analysis, will be available for public consultation by September 2021.
In addition to the work on developing standard metrics, consideration is also being given to the following:
- The incorporation of Life Cycle Analysis into the design stage,
- The availability of open source Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) to industry,
- Development of award criteria for assessment of tenders incorporating Life Cycle Analysis,
- Development of guidance for the incorporation and evaluation of Life Cycle Analysis in public procurement.
The Office of Government Procurement (OGP) published an Information Note on Incorporating Social Considerations into Public Procurement in late 2018. This note helps policy makers and practitioners understand how procurement can be used to facilitate the advancement of existing social policy objectives, including environmental sustainability, as well as the wider context and implications of including them in particular procurement projects.
In 2019, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform issued Circular 20/2019: Promoting the use of Environmental and Social Considerations in Public Procurement. This instructed departments to consider including green criteria in public procurement processes, where defined and measurable criteria exist. The OGP contributed to a revision of Green Procurement – Guidance for the Public Sector, led by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which, in addition to broad guidance on Green Public Procurement (GPP), will describe defined, measurable, and up to date ‘Irish GPP criteria’ for 10 priority sectors. This will greatly assist public bodies to include green criteria in their procurement, in line with Circular 20/2019. The OGP also assisted the EPA in developing training in this area aimed at procurement practitioners and is currently contributing to a steering committee set up by Eastern and Midlands Climate Action Regional Office to address the need for training in the use of GPP across the local authority sector.
Circular 20/2019 also requires Departments to incorporate relevant green procurement measures into their planning and reporting cycles. A GPP monitoring and reporting template, capturing the frequency and value of green criteria in public procurements over €25,000, was developed by the EPA, with input from the OGP. This will feature in the Annual Report of each government department from 2021.
The OGP chairs a cross-departmental Strategic Procurement Advisory Group, bringing together officials from policy Departments with procurement practitioners to share best practice and to facilitate the process of incorporating social and environmental considerations into public procurement. This year, the OGP and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications together set up an Environmental subgroup of the Strategic Procurement Advisory Group, to allow more detailed, technical, discussion of environmental considerations with experts including from the EPA and Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.
