Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 June 2023
67. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs how he will ensure that Ireland's international development programme makes a clear contribution to progress on the Sustainable Development Goals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28094/23]
View answerIrelands international development programme is explicitly focused on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Ireland provides Official Development Assistance to support the most vulnerable people in more than 130 countries. To this end, we form partnerships with governments, international and multilateral organisations, local civil society groups and international non-governmental organisations.
A Better World: Ireland’s Policy for International Development, which was published in 2019, fully integrates the SDGs and sets out our contribution to their achievement. Its headline priorities are to reduce humanitarian need, support climate action, promote gender equality and strengthen governance, with the overarching ambition to reach the furthest behind first. These priorities closely align with the SDGs, individually and collectively, and the overall approach and spirit of the 2030 Agenda.
Our regional strategies also reflect Ireland’s commitment to the SDGs. The Government's Strategy for Africa to 2025, Strategy for Latin America and the Caribbean and Strategy for Partnership with Small Island Developing States enshrine our commitment to deepening engagement with countries in these regions in their efforts to achieve the SDGs. They have a particular focus on reaching the furthest behind first and leaving no-one behind.
Ireland’s engagement with specific partners and sectors is also guided by the SDGs. We require our multilateral partners to contribute effectively to the global achievement of the SDGs, and focus our collaboration with civil society, including very significant funding support, on the achievement of the Goals. Similarly, the Government's International Climate Finance Roadmap, published in 2022, sets out the strategy for achieving our climate finance commitments, a central target under SDG 13.
Ireland also supports the achievement of the SDGs through our diplomatic work. We are a leading advocate for human rights, civic space and multilateralism, values which underpin and cut across all the SDGs. At the UN, Ireland is currently co-facilitating the negotiation of the political declaration to be adopted by the SDG Summit to be held in New York in September.
