Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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1611. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the progress made by her Department in respect of targets and goals set out in sustainable development goals of the 2030 United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development under the policy remit of her Department; and if these targets and goals will be met by their respective deadlines. [12909/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a significant and ambitious framework. A whole-of-Government approach to its implementation has been taken in Ireland. Ireland’s Second National Implementation Plan for the Sustainable Development Goals, 2022 – 2024 was published in October 2022. The Plan was developed by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications in collaboration with all Government Departments, key stakeholders, and based on input from two public consultation processes. A key objective of the Plan is to achieve greater policy coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD) with the aim of accelerating achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at all levels of Government.

The Plan is supplemented by two supporting documents: an SDG policy map which identifies the lead Departments and relevant national policies for each of the 169 SDG targets; and a Policy Update document which provides policy updates for each of the SDG targets. These documents are available at www.gov.ie/sdgs

The Central Statistics Office, in collaboration with all Government Departments, has prepared a series of statistical publications which monitor and report on how Ireland is progressing towards meeting its targets under the SDGs. Reports are available for SDGs 1 – 16 and can be found on the central statistics website.

A key commitment under the SDG National Implementation Plan involves mainstreaming the SDGs across national policies. The following key policies, developed and being implemented by my Department, are underpinned by, and strongly align with, the Sustainable Development Goals:

- Our Rural Futureis the Irish Government’s blueprint for the development of rural Ireland over the period 2021 - 2025. It provides the framework to achieve the vision of transforming the quality of life and opportunity for people living in rural areas. The policy outlines over 150 measures for delivery during that timeframe, each of which are directly linked to at least one UN Sustainable Development Goal.

- The high-level objectives and actions set out in the Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities A five-year strategy to support the community and voluntary sector in Ireland 2019-2024support consultation, inclusion and participation of communities in public policy and decision-making at all levels and supports the implementation of SDG 4 Quality Education, SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 13 Climate Action, and SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

- The SDGs are mainstreamed into the National Social Enterprise Policyand implementation of the Policy is opening new opportunities for social enterprises to address social and environmental challenges, and thereby progress towards the SDGs. The policy reflects the Irish Government’s commitment to facilitating the success of social enterprise in Ireland, as well as underpinning the Government’s commitments to equality, human rights and social cohesion. The policy is aligned to the SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth in particular and the targets therein.

- The National Volunteering Strategyand the SDGs share common themes of sustainability, co-operation and inclusivity. These themes provide the critical framework for the Strategy and the SDGs are integrated into its five Strategic Objectives. In particular the Strategic Objectives outlined in the strategy support the community, voluntary and charity sector and strengthen its capacity to contribute to civil society and therefore strongly support SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities.

- The Town Centre First Policy, focuses on ensuring we plan for sustainable cities and communities through proactively addressing the decline in the health of towns across Ireland and supporting measures to regenerate and revitalise them. This focus is aligned with Goal 11 of the SDGs. The policy encourages renewed focus on the sustainable and adaptive reuse of existing assets and increasing the energy efficiency of individual buildings.

- The spectrum of SDGs is well represented in the actions of the Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors: National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023-2027with 14 of the 17 SDGs included. There are particularly strong links with SDG 3 Good Health and Wellbeing, SDG 4 Quality Education, SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities, SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production, SDG 13 Climate Action and SDG 15 Life on Land. Each action is directly linked to one or more SDGs and will contribute to the delivery of one or more of the targets associated

Additionally, my Department contributes to the delivery of the SDGs through the following work:

- TheSuperValu TidyTowns competition which isadministered by my Department. The Sustainable Development Goals now form an integral part of the competition and the goals have been aligned to each of the eight competition categories. A special award entitled “Sustainable Development Goals Award” has also been introduced to the competition.

- Through provision of supports for local community structuressuch as the Local Community Development Committees and Public Participation Networks so as to build social cohesion and ensure no one is left behind.

- Supporting disadvantaged communities and individuals through the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP), Ireland’s primary social inclusion funding intervention, which aims to reduce poverty and promote social inclusion and equality.

- Provision of supports for public librarieswhich align with SDG 4 Quality Education and specifically to targets focused on access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education and literacy and numeracy.