Written answers
Tuesday, 18 May 2021
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Sustainable Development Goals
Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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168. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress made to include reference in all new statements of strategy to all sustainable development goal targets for which his Department has lead responsibility as outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals National Implementation Plan 2018-2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25746/21]
Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a significant and ambitious policy agenda that concerns all Government Departments.
The first National Implementation Plan (2018-2020), published in 2018, set out Ireland’s strategy to achieve the SDGs both domestically and internationally. The Goals are mainstreamed in domestic policy and the governance structure reflects a whole-of-government approach and ensures coordination and coherence, in particular where goals cover areas of shared responsibility.
19 Actions were included in the first National Implementation Plan. Action 4 of the plan set out a commitment to include reference in all new Statements of Strategy to all SDG targets for which a Department has lead responsibility.
The development of the next SDG Implementation Plan has commenced, with the intention of publication later this year. A National Progress report will be incorporated into the Plan and will assess the progress on the 19 Actions, including the commitment set out under Action 4.
My Department published it Statement of Strategy 2021-2023 in February of this year. The strategy was developed in the context of my Department’s role in contributing to the SDGs. Goal 5 of the Statement of Strategy commits the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment to advancing the green transition in enterprise and to honouring its Climate Action commitments. The six SDG targets for which my Department had responsibility for at the time of the Statement’s publication are specifically referenced in setting out how the Department will achieve this goal. The role of the SDGs goes beyond Goal 5 and sustainability has acted as a guiding principle across the Statement as a whole. This can be seen in Goal 1 which aims to achieve a strong recovery and sustainable economic development; Goal 2 which aims to promote safety, better pay and conditions, more secure jobs and gender equality in the workplace and Goal 4 which aims to deepen and extend Ireland’s Global business and trade in a fair and sustainable manner.
Since the publication of the Statement of Strategy my Department has taken responsibility for an additional two targets under the SDG National Implementation Plan. These are target 8.8 which relates to the protection of labour rights, and target 10.a relating to implementation of special and differential treatment for developing countries. These changes in responsibility are reflected in the recently updated SDG Policy Map available on gov.ie.
Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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169. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the specific sustainable development goal targets his Department is responsible for implementing; the progress made in implementing those targets since 26 April 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25764/21]
Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Overall political oversight for national SDG implementation is provided through the Cabinet, with each Minister having specific responsibility for implementing individual SDG targets related to their Ministerial functions. The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) has responsibility for promoting the SDGs, and for overseeing their coherent implementation across Government.
The first National Implementation Plan (2018-2020), published in 2018, set out Ireland’s strategy to achieve the SDGs both domestically and internationally. An important element of this Plan is the SDG Policy Map and Matrix, which identified the lead and stakeholder Departments for each of the Goals and targets and also mapped national sectoral policies against the 17 SDGs and all 169 related targets, in order to identify which policies were most relevant to which SDGs and their associated targets.
The SDG Policy Map and Matrix enhances the ability of stakeholders to track Ireland’s implementation of specific SDGs and associated targets, and to assess Ireland’s response to the SDGs for potential policy gaps. It also supports and enhances cross-Government engagement in implementing each of the Goals and Targets. This policy map has recently been updated and is available online at gov.ie
Currently the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is the lead Department for seven Sustainable Development Goal targets. These are set out below:
| Target | Description |
|---|---|
| 8.3 | Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services |
| 8.5 | By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value |
| 8.8 | Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants, and those in precarious employment |
| 8.b | By 2020, develop and operationalize a global strategy for youth employment and implement the Global Jobs Pact of the International Labour Organization |
| 9.2 | Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and, by 2030, significantly raise industry’s share of employment and gross domestic product, in line with national circumstances, and double its share in least developed countries |
| 10.a | Implement the principle of special and differential treatment for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, in accordance with World Trade Organization agreements |
| 12.6 | Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle |
Progress on these targets is mainstreamed into the work of my Department. Progress on targets across Goals 8 and 9 has been made through my Department’s enterprise policy set out in Enterprise 2025 Renewed and Future Jobs Ireland 2019 and will continue to be made through the National Economic Recovery Plan.
In relation to progress on goal 12.6, the Corporate Social Responsibility Stakeholder Forum has been temporarily paused due to reprioritisation of resources due to the Covid-19 pandemic. My Department has begun to explore a number of other avenues to progress this goal in tandem with ongoing action.
My Department has recently launched a public consultation seeking the views of stakeholders on an EU proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, available at: . The proposal revises the existing EU Non-financial Reporting Directive (2014/95/EU) extending the scope to all large companies, not just those with over 500 employees, and all companies listed on regulated markets (except listed micro-enterprises). The proposal introduces more detailed reporting requirements and a requirement to report according to mandatory EU sustainability reporting standards and the assurance (audit) of reported information.
The UN Global Compact has begun initial discussions with my Department and its agencies regarding the establishment of a network here in Ireland – this would be a very positive development for encouraging sustainable practice among Irish enterprise in making progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal targets, and it is something which my Department will work to facilitate.
My Department has also been active in relation to the monitoring of progress on the SDGs and is working with the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on a publication - ‘Ireland's UN SDGs – Goal 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth, 2021’ - which will report on Ireland’s progress in relation to Goal 8. This work will be published in June 2021.
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