Mr. Leslie Carberry:

I wanted to respond very briefly to Senator Higgins's question around the informing of policy by the SDG framework. My colleague Ms Gilmartin chose the right term there. A concrete example is the development of the circular economy strategy. While it does not explicitly reference the SDGs in this regard, it was very much to the fore of our minds when we incorporate the "leave no one behind" principle. We were not just looking at the strategy as an environmental document, but one which had economic, social and distributional consequences. That went on to inform very strongly the drafting of the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022, in which we put in very strong safeguards. For example, when were putting in new environmental charges or levies, we did so only where there were no affordable alternatives, because one has to be aware of marginalised and economically disadvantaged communities. That work was strengthened by some amendments tabled by Deputy Whitmore, which we accepted, around poverty proofing. While it might not always be explicitly called out, there are definitely cases where that inclusive principle of the SDGs, "leave no one behind", has been reflected in policy more to a degree than it would have been prior to 2015.