Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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339. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of implementing "ESD to 2030: Second National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development"; the amount that has been spent on this to date; and the estimated cost to fully implement this in each year and cumulatively. [56393/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I can advise the Deputy that the 2^ndNational Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development – ESD to 2030, was published in June 2022 and is available at: www.gov.ie/en/publication/02952d-national-strategy-on-education-for-sustainable-development-in-irelan/

ESD aims to ensure that by 2030 “all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including among others through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development”. This is aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals Target 4.7. ESD is both an SDG target and a key enabler for all 17 SDGs.

Work under the first strategy 2014-2020 included integrating ESD principles and themes across the curriculum from Early Years to post primary education, into the inspection and assessment process, into Initial Teacher Education and Continuing Professional Development for Teachers, specific courses in Further Education and Training and research at Higher Education level. As such, the cost of implementing the first strategy was managed from the annual budgets provided to bodies under the aegis of the Department with minimal additional costs from the Department.

ESD to 2030 builds on the achievements under the first strategy and is based on 5 pillars from the UNESCO roadmap: namely:

- Policy Alignment

- Transforming Learning Environments

- Building Capacity

- Empowering and mobilising youth

- Community engagement

Implementation of ESD to 2030 is co-sponsored by the Department of Education, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. The Plan contains actions spanning a number of Government Departments and funding of relevant actions will be a matter for those Departments to manage under the annual budgetary process. A Steering Group comprising relevant Government Departments and key funding agencies has been established to oversee implementation and to ensure cohesion in terms of policy and funding for ESD across government.

In 2022, the Department of Education has a specific budget of €300,000 for ESD.This funding has been used to fund a number of initiatives and projects including:-

- Work on the development and publication of ESD to 2030 including the convening of a stakeholder forum

- The Annual ESD forum

- Sponsoring the Dublin Gazette “Making Dublin Greener” competition for primary and post primary schools

- Funding for the Take 1 project

- ESD related research projects in collaboration with the Department of Foreign Affairs/ Irish Aid

- BTYSE ESD award sponsorship

- ESD Newsletter prizes for schools

- ESD call for funding for schools and organisations supporting ESD to 2030 in schools

In addition to the above, the Department of Education also funds:

- The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) to further integrate ESD across the curriculum and to develop the new Leaving Certificate subject – Climate action and Sustainable Development

- The school support services (Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) and Junior Cycle for Teachers (JCT)) to provide CPD and resources for teachers to support ESD related teaching and learning

- The State Examinations Commission (SEC) to further integrate ESD into the assessment processes

Through the quarterly ESD Newsletter, the Department highlights further opportunities for ESD related funding from other sources such as local authorities, DFA/ Irish Aid, the EU, UNESCO and through competitions etc.,

ESD to 2030 also promotes and supports a range of ESD related programmes such as An Taisce’s Green Schools programme including the Safe Routes to Schools initiative, the SEAIs Schools Energy Programme and DFA/ Irish Aid’s Global Schools programme.

As set out above, future Department funding to support ESD to 2030 in schools will be subject to the annual budgetary process.