Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The question comes down to whether the Minister will be the person who will draw all of that together. The proposals from Coalition 2030 make sense. The national action plan was one. They also talk about a monitoring forum. I listened to the previous exchange. The elephant in the room is climate change. If we do not get that right, then none of those sustainable development goals will be achieved. The other point is that the public has to buy into this. Importantly, there has to be public awareness and participation. When we look at finance for development, which the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade seems to be committed to, the question seems to be one of moving towards 0.7% of gross national income, GNI. None of this will happen unless the resources go in. It is a matter for the Minister's Department but the other Departments have to be involved. We need NGOs and civil society to buy into that. That is a major piece of work that has to be done.

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