Ms Fionnuala Callanan:

I thank the Cathaoirleach and members of the committee for the invitation to appear today. My focus today will be on the role of the sustainable development goals, SDGs. The 2030 Agenda, agreed in 2015 by all 193 United Nations member states, highlights that “The future of humanity and of our planet lies in our hands. It lies also in the hands of today’s younger generation who will pass the torch to future generations.”

The 17 SDGs represent the international community’s collective roadmap towards a safer, fairer, more prosperous and sustainable world - a world capable of meeting our current needs and those of future generations.

Agenda 2030 uses a five-dimensional model of sustainable development, known as the five Ps, which includes people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership. It is a universal agenda, which takes account of the growing interconnectedness of development challenges which need to be addressed in a co-ordinated and coherent manner. Grounded in human rights, it aims to meet the SDGs for all nations, people and all segments of society and it pledges that no one will be left behind. The 17 SDGs aim to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change, so that it can support the needs of present and future generations.

Governments have primary responsibility for implementing the SDGs, but the goals belong to everyone, and governments will need to work in partnership with society to achieve them. In Ireland, a whole-of-government approach has been adopted for implementation of the SDGs, with each Minister having specific responsibility for implementing individual SDG targets related to their ministerial functions. The Department for the Environment, Climate and Communications has overall responsibility for promoting the SDGs and overseeing their coherent implementation across government, including the development of the national implementation plan and voluntary national reviews.

The UN High-Level Political Forum, HLPF, convenes annually, and is responsible for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda at international level. In July 2023, Ireland’s second voluntary national review was presented by the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, at the HLPF under the theme of "Building Back Better while Leaving No One Behind".

The VNR process provided an accessible and inclusive space for our national network of stakeholders to review Ireland’s progress and offer their feedback on how they perceived Ireland was doing in progressing the SDGs. A specific youth consultation took place as part of the VNR process. It was developed by the National Youth Council of Ireland and our Department with the support of Ireland’s UN youth delegates, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and Comhairle na nÓg. A youth chapter was developed and included, the first year such a chapter has been included in any country’s VNR. Among the key issues highlighted by Ireland’s youth voices in this chapter is that the only solution that ensures the needs of people today and in the future can align in equilibrium with the needs of the planet is for everyone to work together. Their hope for the future is that young people in Ireland are taken seriously as stakeholders and that leaders at local, regional, national and international levels can come together to work intergenerationally for a safer and fairer world.

The UN Summit of the Future, which took place in New York in September, was described by the Taoiseach as “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enhance global co-operation, reaffirm commitments to the sustainable development goals, and reform multilateralism.” At the summit, world leaders adopted a pact for the future that included a declaration on future generations. The pact covers a broad range of issues, including peace and security, sustainable development, climate change, digital co-operation, human rights, gender, youth and future generations, and the transformation of global governance. It recognises children and youth as agents of change and the need for intergenerational dialogue and engagement, including with and among children, youth and older persons, to be taken into consideration in policymaking and decision-making processes in order to safeguard the needs and interests of future generations. The pact recognises that the well-being of current and future generations and the sustainability of our planet rests on our willingness to take action and aims to turbocharge implementation of the sustainable development goals.