Mr. John McGeady:

There is a threefold approach to that which reaches from the beginning to the end of the policy cycle. Impact assessment tools are already used at European level whenever policy is being developed and implemented. The SDGs are not explicitly part of that impact assessment process. They are used and are embedded to some extent, but having an explicit SDG impact assessment tool within that overall impact assessment at policymaking level would ensure that the SDGs that would be impacted both positively and negatively by a particular policy initiative would be considered. This means that, where a particular goal is negatively impacted, consideration could be given to the mitigation measures that could be brought to bear in the policymaking process to improve that situation so that we would not be progressing one goal while another deteriorates. Such an assessment tool could be used at various levels. When a policy has been developed and approved and is to be implemented, a similar tool could be used in the implementation process to see whether it is working in practice. That is where accountability would come in.

The question of mechanisms for holding to account is more challenging. That is for the European Commission, the European Parliament and member countries. When Ireland holds the EU Presidency, it will be a convening role but there is nonetheless an opportunity to emphasise areas where assessment is showing that progress is not being made or that a particular policy is undermining a development goal.