Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I again pay tribute to our team at the UN, including Ambassador Mythen. I do not often mention particular civil servants, but I refer to John Gilroy, who was there in 2015 at the formulation of the SDGs and during the working up of that document. He was there again this time in regard to the rebooting and re-energising of the SDGs. This reflects respect within the UN system for Ireland and our values in respect of world hunger, in particular, given our own historical experiences.

We, that is the world, are off track significantly. Only about 15% of the 169 targets are on track. While recent crises have inhibited the achievement of the SDGs, progress towards the goals was already slowing down and uneven. The need for progress, therefore, is urgent. Ireland and Qatar worked to gain consensus. This was complex, but we managed to do it, especially concerning international finance. We will see significant moves, I would like to think, in reforming the international financial architecture to support developing states.

We are making progress here towards achieving our commitment to 0.7% of GNI. Our GDP rises more than most, but, nonetheless, we have made significant progress over the last two years and we will continue to do this. We are one of the few countries, in the context of the Ukrainian war, to maintain and increase overseas development aid separately from our commitments to Ukraine.

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