Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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1. To ask the Taoiseach the number of times and the dates that the senior officials group on the Sustainable Development Goals, which is chaired by his Department has met in 2019, 2020 and 2021; and the Sustainable Development Goals addressed in each of the meetings of the group in tabular form. [7727/21]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is firmly committed to achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These cut across policy areas within the responsibility of many Government Departments and agencies, and touch on both domestic and international policy approaches.

The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications has lead responsibility for promoting and overseeing the coherent implementation of the SDGs on a whole-of-Government basis, and the SDG implementation and reporting framework.

Officials in his Department lead this work, including through an Inter-Departmental Group which brings together officials from Departments responsible for measures associated with individual SDGs under Ireland’s National Implementation Plan.

Overall high-level political oversight of the SDGs is provided where necessary and appropriate at Government.

The Senior Officials’ Group, chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach, and supported by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, meets as required to coordinate and monitor progress generally. It met on 22 November 2019 and, most recently, on 16 February 2021.

The Interdepartmental Working Group, chaired by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, meets to prepare draft documentation, including implementation plans and progress reports. It met on the following dates:

2019: 10 January; 8 April; 17 June; 10 October; 22 October (workshop); 11 December.

2020 13 January; 16 June; 23 July, and 3 September.