Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 1 May 2024
Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs
UN Sustainable Development Goals: Discussion
10:00 am
Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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It is a fact, and I get it, that there is a shift because of changed circumstances around defence and security. How does that play into what the institutions do? I get that after Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine strategic autonomy now actually means something as opposed to just being two words that were bandied around.
Mr. Donoghue said the institutions were weak and the individual states were probably weak in dealing with this. He said this has improved to some degree but there is still no mechanism in the Commission to promote the SDGs, there is loose communications between Commissioners and we need better Council co-ordination. That is before talking about formalising the SDG alliance to a greater degree. How do we get down to business? Ms Uí Bhroin said the fact is that the priorities are all in the wrong place. What do we need to do? We pick what we can impact and what will make things better on an international basis but will that also make better people's lives individually. This is how we sell all of these. If the witnesses could answer in two or three minutes, the Cathaoirleach will be delighted.