Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 31 January 2024
207. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development to outline her response to the report on the progress on the sustainable development goals 2023, produced by the Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands. [4447/24]
View answerI welcome the report of the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands on the progress of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a significant and ambitious framework for achieving a better and more sustainable future for all. The whole-of-Government approach being taken in Ireland to the implementation of the SDGs is driving positive progress in achieving the Goals.
A key commitment under the SDG National Implementation Plan involves mainstreaming the SDGs across national policies. My Department’s Statement of Strategy for 2023 - 2025 includes a commitment to align our policies with the SDG National Implementation Plan and to place SDGs at the heart of our policies.
The Committee’s report acknowledges the ongoing work of my Department in proactively embedding the SDGs across a broad range of our key policies, including Our Rural Future, Town Centres First, Our Living Islands and Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities: A Five-Year Strategy to Support the Community and Voluntary Sector in Ireland.
My Department will continue to collaborate with colleagues across Government, and with local community structures, to enhance awareness and understanding and build capacity in relation to the SDGs at all levels.
A response to the recommendations made in the report in relation to my Department is currently being finalised and will be submitted to the Joint Committee shortly.
