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Sustainable Development Goals

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 July 2020

Tuesday, 28 July 2020

Ceisteanna (224)

Gary Gannon

Ceist:

224. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Finance the way in which the commitment to the sustainable development goals will be reflected in the Strategy and Work Plan 2020-2025 of his Department; and the way in which progress towards achieving the goals will be monitored and reported annually. [18273/20]

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Freagraí scríofa

As the Deputy may be aware, in September 2015, 193 UN Member Countries including Ireland adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which consist of 169 targets around the 17 high level goals. The SDGs are a global blueprint for collective progress to a more prosperous and sustainable world by 2030. The SDGs are applicable to all countries, developed and developing, and action is required for their implementation both domestically and internationally.

Ireland is committed to implementing the SDGs, and published its first SDG National Implementation Plan 2018-2020 in July 2018. While the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment  has lead responsibility for promoting and overseeing the coherent implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the whole-of-Government approach to implementation of the SDGs means all Ministers are responsible for implementing the SDGs related to their functions. The Department of Finance has been assigned responsibility for a number of goals and sub-targets, spanning from promoting inclusive economic growth to building partnerships for sustainable development. These responsibilities include targets under the following Goals where a lead or stakeholder role has been assigned

- Goal End poverty in all its forms everywhere

- Goal 3      Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages (stakeholder role)

- Goal 8 Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

- Goal 9       Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation

- Goal 10     Reduce inequality within and among countries

- Goal 12    Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns (stakeholder role)

- Goal 13    Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts (stakeholder role)

- Goal 15    Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss (stakeholder role)

- Goal 17    Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development

A comprehensive list of these responsibilities is published in an Annex to the National Implementation Plan available at https://www.dccae.gov.ie/documents/DCCAE-National-Implementation-Plan-Annex-1.pdf. I can assure the Deputy that my Department will continue existing work in these areas, with a view to increasingly mainstreaming the SDGs into relevant policies.

Currently there are a number of channels through which my Department reports SDG progress. The Department of Finance complies with the National Implementation Plan requirement to provide information in its Annual Report on the implementation of relevant SDG targets.  As the Deputy may be aware, delivery on the SDGs is underpinned by an implementation and reporting process. Given the broad scope and cross-cutting nature of the SDGs, the Government has put in place strong and effective governance arrangements  which are essential to ensure high-level engagement with the 2030 Agenda and effective interdepartmental cooperation on the implementation of the Goals.  A Senior Officials Group (SOG) has been established to co-ordinate and monitor SDG implementation and to report, as required, to Government. The SOG is chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach. To further support the work of the SOG, an Interdepartmental SDG Working Group was established, comprised of representatives from all Departments with responsibilities for the SDGs. To accentuate the all-of-government approach and ensure policy coherence, my Department is supportive and fully engages with this SDG governance architecture.

My Department also continues to participate in SDG Stakeholders Forums. These events provides a opportunity to engage with stakeholders and civil society groups on an ongoing basis in relation to SDG implementation. These are all important channels of reporting and monitoring SDG progress.

Internationally, the UN High-level Political Forum (HLPF) is responsible for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda at the global level. The HLPF meets annually and features inputs from national governments, intergovernmental bodies, relevant UN agencies, civil society and other stakeholders.

Countries are encouraged to review implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) regularly and present Voluntary National Reviews (VNR) at the HLPF. Ireland presented its first VNR at the HLPF in July 2018. Having input into the first VNR, I expect my Department to be an active contributor in the next National Review in 2022. 

The Deputy may also be aware that, as of 2020, the EU Semester process of Economic governance and coordination has a new focus on Green and Sustainable issues. This new focus takes account of the European Green Deal as Europe’s new growth strategy, and incorporates the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals into all stages of the process. Progress towards achieving the UN SDG are monitored within this process using:

- The Country Report for each Member State which contains data  setting out the  progress in each Member State across the 17 SDGs towards achieving these Goals by 2030, and

- Each Member State’s National Reform Programme assesses performance in implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

These documents are publicly available as soon as they are published.

Looking forward, I wish to confirm to the Deputy that my Department’s Statement of Strategy  is currently under review. In preparing the revised Strategy I wish to assure that Deputy that this review will take cognisance my Department’s SDG responsibilities, seeking to enhance policy coherence and alignment and mainstream SDGs into policy areas. Increasing this integration will ensure that aside from the modalities of communicating progress I have already outlined, the reporting of my Department’s performance towards its strategic objectives will be synchronous with  progress toward SDG delivery.

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