Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Ireland has adopted a ‘whole-of-Government’ approach to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with each Minister having responsibility for implementing individual SDG targets related to their functions. As Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, I have lead responsibility for targets related to a number of SDGs, including Goal 12 on Sustainable Consumption and Production, as well as Goal 7 on Energy and Goal 13 on Climate Action. In addition, I have overall responsibility for promoting the SDGs, and for overseeing their coherent implementation across Government. These responsibilities are reflected in my Department’s current Statement of Strategy 2019-2021, and will also be included in the new Statement of Strategy which must be prepared following my appointment as Minister. In accordance with the Public Service Management Act 1997 am annual report on implementation of the Statement of Strategy is also prepared.

The SDG National Implementation Plan 2018-2020 includes a commitment to a biennial SDG reporting cycle, and Ireland’s 1^stSDG progress report was produced in 2018. However, due to the extraordinary circumstance of COVID-19, and in order to ensure that Ireland’s 2^ndSDG progress report reflects the full social, economic and environmental impacts of the pandemic, I have decided to defer producing that 2^ndreport until 2021. The national SDG reporting cycle will thereafter revert to its original schedule, with Ireland’s 3^rdSDG progress report to be produced in 2022.