Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 May 2021
702. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine 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. [25760/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraOverall political oversight for national Sustainable Development Goals (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 is a lead on the following five SDGs:
- Goal 2: Zero Hunger
- Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
- Goal 14: Life below Water
- Goal 15: Life on Land
- Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Progress on these is published on https://irelandsdg.geohive.ie/.
As part of the National Implementation Plan 2018-2020, there was a commitment to include reference in all new Statements of Strategy to all SDG targets for which a Department has lead responsibility. This Department’s new Statement of Strategy includes the SDGs.
The draft agri-food strategy to 2030, drawn up by a stakeholder committee, has been published as part of a public consultation on its environmental assessment, and is open for submissions until 15th June. The draft strategy includes cross-references to the appropriate SDGs.
