Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party)
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There are two pieces to this. There is the advertising of the SDGs so that people understand what they are, as Mr. Talbot has been saying. One meets people. I have my pin somewhere but just not on me, just to let him know. The bigger piece, I suggest, is not the advertising of the SDGs but the work which underpins achieving under the SDGs. I must say that I do not think that the public get it even when one does have conversations. I hate to be depressing about it but people look at what is happening on their street. I am obviously having many conversations with people.

A pedestrian crossing might, overall, be good for people who are flocking towards a particular area. However, where we see the resistance is from the people on that particular street, for instance. That is the level of it and that will always be the level of it. If we try to do it in a different space, people are not going to get it. It is not going to permeate down to the local authorities because, ultimately, local decisions will be made about it. That is the challenge for us. We can put everything into policy documents but that is where the advertising and the push needs to come. I am sure everyone sees this but Chambers Ireland might particularly see it because it is working in a different area, where people have differing pressures, such as those to make money, to get footfall into retail businesses and also the pressure to be sustainable. Social Justice Ireland, SJI, has different pressures as well. It is about putting food on the table versus doing something that has an overall public good. There is a lot there that advertising of the sustainable development goals, SDGs, does not get us to. I love the idea of linking things in the budget to SDGs because that is where interest is generated for people.