Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)

Go raibh maith agat, Leas-Chathaoirleach, and I am very grateful to him and the members of the committee for giving me the opportunity to engage with the joint committee on the implementation of the SDGs internationally. Ireland is proud of our long and ongoing commitment to the SDGs. The committee will be aware that, in 2015, together with Kenya, Ireland played a leading role in building consensus and agreement on Agenda 2030 and the SDGs. We built on this experience at the UN in 2023 when, alongside Qatar, we co-facilitated negotiations on the SDG summit’s political declaration.

However, and as is also no doubt to the forefront of the committee’s considerations, there is real cause for concern about the implementation of the SDGs globally. The latest SDG global progress report by the UN highlights that only one in five of the SDG targets are fully on track. Almost half have seen marginal or no progress at all. Alarmingly, a further 18% have regressed since 2015. There are of course many factors in this regression or reversal of progress, including the impact of the Covid pandemic. We cannot ignore that significant cuts to development budgets are now being implemented globally. These cuts will inevitably set back progress on the SDGs further and will fall hardest on those who are furthest behind. According to the OECD, the least developed countries are projected to see up to a 25% fall in net bilateral overseas development assistance, ODA, in 2025. I am very conscious that, with 2030 just five years away, the global path towards successfully achieving the SDGs is narrowing significantly. This is emerging as an issue of trust by many developing countries, which are also often constrained by crippling debt levels.

I assure the committee that it remains a whole-of-government priority for Ireland to play its part. We are increasing our ODA budget for 2026. The budget for Irish Aid, managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, will increase to €840.3 million, its highest ever level. The SDGs are fully integrated into Ireland's international development programme, A Better World, in which leaving no one behind is central. Our headline priorities aim to reduce humanitarian need, support climate action, promote gender equality and strengthen governance. As a committed member of the European Union, it is also deeply important for Ireland that the European Union meets its commitments to implement the SDGs in all policies and to deliver a better future by the 2030 deadline.

The EU and its member states are now the world’s largest provider of overseas development assistance, accounting for 42% of global ODA. The implications of this are clear. As the 2030 deadline approaches, the EU has a pivotal role to play. Ireland is working closely in the EU to ensure that this role is fulfilled and that commitments are met, including in co-ordinating support to the United Nations and other development and humanitarian partners. This year, the EU Commission published its proposals for the next multiannual financial framework, MFF, which will run from 2028 to 2034. In this new MFF, the proposed global Europe instrument is a significant merger of major instruments including external action, enlargement, neighbourhood, development co-operation and humanitarian assistance. It reflects that in an increasingly complex and fragmented world, the EU's global agenda aims to work with partners globally on issues of mutual interest, and in doing so to protect EU interests. I believe strongly that in reflecting a new global way of working, there should be no trade-off between EU values and interests. This is a false dichotomy. The EU has a clear vested interest in ensuring it is making a substantive and sustained contribution towards a more stable, prosperous and equal world, while also working to protect EU interests. In line with this, Ireland believes that the next MFF must maintain the EU’s leadership in providing development and humanitarian assistance in a sustained, long-term manner with global partners. We welcome the proposed target that 90% of the global Europe spend should be official development assistance. Ongoing support for the least developed countries and fragile states remains central to Ireland’s priorities. Allowing countries already lagging behind to stagnate or fall even further behind risks undermining progress made globally or regionally, leading to instability, conflict and forced displacement of people.

The EU is a key humanitarian actor, providing shelter, food, health and education services. In the MFF, we wish to ensure dedicated funding for humanitarian assistance. The EU’s global gateway strategy is now a defining feature of how the EU implements global engagement. This strategy sets out a programme of investment supports while enhancing EU private sector involvement. Successful global gateway implementation can make an important contribution to SDG implementation in areas such as supporting inclusive economic growth, including building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive industrialisation and fostering innovation. The SDGs also aim to promote full and productive employment and decent work for all. As the EU continues to develop global gateway, Ireland will maintain that it must be driven primarily by the needs of partner countries and must provide opportunities for local private sector growth.

The SDGs set out an interlinked framework, which demonstrates clearly that in order to make sustainable progress on, for example, economic growth, there is a need for commensurate progress on a range of other issues, including human development, climate change, peace and stability, rule of law and strong institutions. We know that more equal societies, where women can actively engage in both economic and political life, are more likely to achieve sustainable prosperity. Hence the importance of SDG goal 5 on gender equality, which remains at the core of Ireland’s positioning in all we do, including implementing A Better World and negotiating the next MFF.

Maintaining the EU’s commitment to ODA is a core priority for Ireland and the target of 0.7% of GNI to ODA must remain central to the EU’s global engagement. Of course, ODA is of itself far from sufficient to address the challenges of global poverty and inequality. Hence the important SDG focused on mobilising private sector finance which underpins the global gateway strategy.

The sustainable development goals build on decades of work by the UN and countries across the world. Today, the need to reinvigorate the multilateral system and support UN reform efforts under the UN80 initiative is crucial. We must ensure the UN is focused, fit for purpose and ready to deliver on the promises of the 2030 agenda. These are the key issues for Ireland as we work with the EU and other member states, including during our Presidency next year, to shape the future direction of the EU’s external action and find consensus on a new global Europe. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to present here this afternoon and I look forward to engaging with any questions from members.