Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 March 2023
530. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the progress made by his Department in respect of targets and goals set out in sustainable development goals of the 2030 United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development under the policy remit of his Department; and if these targets and goals will be met by their respective deadlines. [12903/23]
View answerThe 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is a comprehensive and ambitious framework for global development. Its implementation requires a whole-of-Government approach.
Ireland’s Second National Implementation Plan for the SDGs, 2022 – 2024, was published in October 2022. It was developed by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications in collaboration with all Government Departments, key stakeholders, and based on input from two public consultation processes. A key objective is to achieve greater policy coherence for sustainable development in order to accelerate the achievement of the Goals at all levels of Government.
The Plan is supplemented by two supporting documents: an SDG policy map which identifies the lead Departments and relevant national policies for each of the 169 SDG targets; and a Policy Update for each of the SDG targets. These documents are available at www.gov.ie/sdgs.
The Department of Foreign Affairs leads Ireland's international efforts toward the SDGs. The Government's international development policy fully integrates the SDGs, with headline priorities to reduce humanitarian need, support climate action, promote gender equality and strengthen governance, and the overarching ambition to reach the furthest behind first.
Through the international development programme, we provide official development assistance (ODA) to support the most vulnerable people in more than 130 countries. Ireland’s ODA budget has grown from €792 million in 2018 to €1.233 billion in 2023, a 56% increase. The OECD Development Assistance Committee concluded in 2020 that “Ireland is a strong voice for sustainable development, leading and supporting policy dialogue at both international and local levels."
The Central Statistics Office, in collaboration with all Government Departments, has prepared a series of statistical publications which monitor and report on how Ireland is progressing towards meeting its targets under the 17 SDGs. Reports are available for SDGs 1 – 16 and can be found at www.cso.ie/en/statistics/unsustainabledevelopmentgoals/. Work is underway in relation to Goal 17 reporting, including from the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Ireland will present a report on progress during our second Voluntary National Review at the United Nations High-Level Political Forum in New York in July. The Review report will include a high-level data section and a more detailed appendix reporting on progress towards achieving the individual goals and targets.
In September, world leaders will meet at the SDG Summit at the UN in New York to review progress on the Goals. Ireland and Qatar will co-facilitate the negotiations for the Political Declaration to be adopted at the Summit. This will be an important opportunity to rebuild momentum for the achievement of the SDGs by 2030.
