Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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46. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the position regarding Ireland's first voluntary national review for sustainable development goals, SDGs, in July 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37510/18]

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Will the Minister outline Ireland's position on our first voluntary national review of SDGs last July?

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy. In July, I presented Ireland's first national review of the SDGs to the United Nations High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. Following the adoption of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, including the 17 SDGs, by UN member states in 2015, the forum was designated as the central platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 agenda at global level.

The presentation of the review fulfilled one of the committed actions under Ireland's Sustainable Development Goals National Implementation Plan 2018-2020, which I published in April 2018. The plan sets out how the Government will implement the SDGs at home and support countries around the world to do the same.

The review provided a comprehensive overview of Ireland's progress towards meeting each of the 17 SDGs and of how Ireland was supporting the SDGs' global achievement. An important secondary aim was to establish a baseline for Ireland's future SDG reporting. The review was evidence based, using the EU SDG indicator set developed by EUROSTAT, with corresponding national data for Ireland provided by the CSO.

The review demonstrated how every Department across the Government was contributing to achieving the SDGs, but it also made clear that Ireland still had work to do in order to become a truly sustainable society. Specifically, the review identifies Ireland's strengths in respect of those SDGs dealing with education, health, economic growth, innovation, certain environmental issues, and the enjoyment of a peaceful and safe society. However, we also face challenges in many areas, including addressing high levels of obesity, meeting our national poverty targets, achieving sustainable consumption and production, protecting our marine and terrestrial habitats, and achieving full gender equality in Irish society.

Both the review and my presentation to the UN drew attention to housing and homelessness and climate action as major challenges facing Ireland. As part of my presentation, I invited Ireland's two UN youth delegates for 2017 to 2018 to address the forum and to provide their perspectives on how the sustainable development goals, SDGs, are being implemented in Ireland. I did so because many of the SDGs are highly relevant to Irish young people's daily lives and demonstrate Ireland's ongoing commitment to involving stakeholders in the SDG process.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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We have to acknowledge the very special role that Ireland played in developing the SDGs. That was our then ambassador, David Donoghue. We are in a unique position with that. There is always a danger, when we have agreed goals and targets, that we do not move on to the next phase quickly enough, which is implementation and monitoring. We know what they are about. They are about inequality. If we had to sum it up, we would agree that it is about that. Whatever about the inequalities that Ireland faces, we know that, when it comes to living with inequalities in the global south, in countries in Latin America and certain countries in south-east Asia, we are talking about a different kind of inequality.

I was at Concern's 50th anniversary in Dublin Castle recently and I heard the great enthusiasm and commitment there. Everybody was on the same page. They were talking about the momentum that gathered in New York. How do we move that momentum further? I know that suggestions are being made about the national action plan. One is that all Departments have to come together. There has to be high-level representation because otherwise we will not get policy coherence. The trade policies and tax policies all have to be aligned with our finance policies. Does the Minister expect there will be that cross-departmental group? I know his Department is the lead on this but it will not work unless the other Departments buy in.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I thank Deputy O'Sullivan. I acknowledge the tremendous work the Irish ambassador, David Donoghue, did on behalf of Ireland and Kenya, which led the charge for the development of these SDGs. People did not believe that it was possible to get agreement about SDGs. The Deputy is right about having co-ordination across Departments. It is my responsibility to ensure that happens, working with other Ministers. It is also important that individual Departments take responsibility for individual issues because if no one is responsible, then nothing gets done. We have been frank about the challenges that we have. We are engaging at official and ministerial level to progress these issues.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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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.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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As part of the implementation plan over the next couple of years, priority is being given to public awareness and to stakeholder engagement. We accept that that is fundamental to this. My role as Minister is overseeing coherent implementation across Government and Departments. I have specific responsibility for energy, sustainable consumption and climate action. It is not just about providing leadership here at home. When I was in New York, I had the opportunity to show international leadership. Ireland is now taking a lead role in the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, with the Great Green Wall initiative, to look, across the Sahel region and north Africa, at building a physical barrier to the progression of the Sahara Desert, which has a direct impact on sustaining those communities along the Sahara Desert; to address some of the issues and challenges relating to migration; to provide viable futures for those communities; and, working at international level, to promote and develop that not just as a concept but with practical action on the ground.