Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy again for raising this issue. Ireland’s second SDG programme is currently being finalised. It is intended that the draft plan will be made available - I know the Deputy might not like to hear this word - shortly. However, we will try to get a timeline as quickly as possible to form the basis of discussion at the next SDG national stakeholder forum. This will allow for a final round of input from stakeholders prior to finalisation and publication.

It is important to note that the report uses official published data from international sources such as the OECD, the WHO, the United Nations etc. as well as from non-governmental organisations such as Gallup and Transparency International. The composition of the index of the Social Justice Ireland's own choosing is significant, because the choice of which indicators to include and exclude from an index will invariably impact on a given country’s ranking within that index. The report claims that data selection for this report is first informed by the UN indicators set in 2020 and that it is aligned to this indicator set as closely as possible. However, the report also acknowledges, as changes have been made in the indicator set, the rankings in this report are not directly comparable to the earlier versions of the index. As new information becomes available, the number of indicators evolves. Where possible, each SDG is covered by a minimum of four indicators. However, the report acknowledges that data coverage across the goals is unequal.

Ireland’s good performance, good health and wellbeing does not take into account the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The impact of Covid-19 on the SDGs cannot be fully captured in this year's index. The full scale of the pandemic will likely only be evident in later editions. Again, I thank the Deputy. I hope we will have a timeline as quickly as possible.

See this speech in context