Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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914. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of meetings the Inter-Departmental Committee on Development has had since the publication of One World, One Future: Ireland’s Policy for International Development and the issues the Committee discussed. [22468/15]

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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915. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the input Irish Aid has had in the development of a draft National Bioenergy Plan by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and the Strategic Environmental Assessment of that plan, in the light of the significant impacts of biofuels and other bioenergy on food security and the environment in developing countries. [22469/15]

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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916. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the input Irish Aid has had in the development of climate change mitigation policy by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, in the light of the significant impacts of biofuels on food security and the environment in developing countries. [22470/15]

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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917. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the input Irish Aid has had in the development of climate change mitigation policy by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, in the light of the impacts of climate change on food security in developing countries. [22471/15]

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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918. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the input Irish Aid has had in the development of Agri-Food 2025 by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, in the light of potential impacts of Irish agricultural policy choices on developing countries including through climate change, impacts on global grain prices, and / or inappropriate or excessive use of breast milk substitutes. [22472/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 914 to 918, inclusive, together.

One World One Future: Ireland’s Policy for International Developmentrenews the Government’s strong commitment to a whole-of-Government approach to international development and effective collaboration across Government in achieving policy objectives. We are committed to identifying specific policy areas where policy coherence for development can be enhanced. The OECD Peer Review of Ireland’s Development Cooperation Programme last year noted the considerable progress already made in this regard. It also recommended that Ireland develop a more strategic approach and focus on a few policy issues where greater coherence is required.

Since the publication of One World One Futurein 2013, we have made progress in advancing coherence in a number of policy areas, including on taxation and support for developing countries to raise their own domestic revenue for use in their development. Climate change, energy and agriculture are also areas on which we have focused strongly. They have a critical relationship with global food and nutrition security and hunger, and are priority areas for our development programmes. Through Irish Aid support on climate change and development, we have assisted Least Developed Countries to engage in the international climate change negotiations. On a practical level, we are supporting efforts on climate change mitigation and adaptation in Ireland’s Key Partner Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. We are working closely with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine through collaboration in the Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture, and through joint support for and engagement in the Leadership Forum for Climate Smart Agriculture hosted by the RDS and the Institute for International and European Affairs.

My Department engages fully in cross-Government consultation on these issues. We work closely with the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government which leads on the issue of climate change nationally and internationally, and officials from my Department form part of Ireland’s national delegation to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

In line with a whole-of-Government approach to national, European and international climate policy development, my Department participates in the Senior Officials Group on Economic Infrastructure and Climate Change, along with officials from other relevant Government Departments, including the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, the Department of Energy, Communications and Natural Resources, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine. This group supports the Cabinet Committee on Economic Infrastructure and Climate Change which is chaired by An Taoiseach and in which I have participated.

I would note that the National Policy Position on Climate Action and Low Carbon Development, which was approved by Government, recognises that the need to ensure a coherent and cost-effective approach to the twin challenges of sustainable food production and climate change in the agriculture and land use sector, is a key issue for consideration in the on-going evolution of national climate policy.

Officials from my Department and the Department of Agriculture are in regular contact on a bilateral basis, including on AgriFood 2025.

My colleague, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources takes the lead on Government policy in relation to biofuels including renewable and bio-energy policy. My Department has contributed to the development of policy on bio-energy in Ireland through inputs to the draft National Bio-energy Plan drawn up by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. My Department will continue to contribute to the development of the National Bio-energy Plan through the consultation process leading to the finalisation of the National Plan.

The new Sustainable Development Goals due to be adopted at the UN Summit in New York in September will represent a comprehensive and far-reaching set of universal goals and targets which will transform for the better the world in which we live. The success of the new development agenda hinges on coherence at domestic and international level to ensure policies are focused on poverty eradication and sustainable development. The Interdepartmental Committee on International Development (IDCD) has recently focused on preparations for the UN negotiations on the new development framework. For this purpose, the IDCD has been co-chaired by my Department and the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government to ensure a comprehensive and coherent Irish position on Ireland’s priorities in the inter-governmental negotiations which are taking place in New York. It has met five times since December last year, including with representatives from civil society. The IDCD will continue to meet on a regular basis in this format until September.

It is my intention, following the UN Summit in New York in September, to review how the IDCD is structured and to ensure it is well placed to deliver on our commitment to policy coherence for development. I will work with the members of the Oireachtas to identify the areas where Ireland can most effectively make a difference in advancing areas of policy coherence related to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, building on the achievements to date.