Ciarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)
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197. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the steps his Department has taken to support the development of Ireland’s next Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) National Implementation Plan; and how stakeholders, particularly civil society organisations, are being engaged in its formulation. [35094/25]

Ciarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)
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198. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the means by which his Department is ensuring that the next SDG National Implementation Plan will reflect an integrated, whole-of-Government approach; and the mechanisms in place to coordinate actions across Departments, especially on cross-cutting goals. [35095/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 197 and 198 together.

The Programme for Government commits to accelerating Ireland’s progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and to adopting a coordinated approach to drive impactful action both at home and abroad. A whole-of-Government approach is being taken to deliver the SDGs in Ireland. My Department has overall responsibility for promoting the SDGs and overseeing delivery of the National Implementation Plan across Government. Other relevant Ministers have responsibility for achieving individual SDG targets related to their Ministerial functions.

Achieving the SDGs by 2030 is a collective task that cannot be accomplished without partnership. The third National Implementation Plan for the SDGs is in the early stages of development. A collaborative and participatory approach is being taken to develop the plan, which will involve multiple stakeholders, including Government, Local Authorities, non-governmental organisations, civil society, and various sectoral areas, such as business and academia, youth and marginalised groups. The consultation process will include a number of phases and different strands of consultation, both online and in-person, to reach this wide range of stakeholders.

To support a whole-of-Government approach, my Department will be engaging, through the relevant Senior Officials Group, the SDG Interdepartmental Working Group (IDWG) and other working groups, with officials from across Government Departments on the new Plan.

Ireland’s current participation in the multi-country OECD Project on Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development “Building Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD) across national and local government in Ireland” is also helping to inform the new Plan. Workshops on PCSD with participants from across Government Departments and Civil Society took place in March. A capacity building workshop on localisation with the SDG Localisation working group took place in April, with a further workshop taking place this week with Local Authorities.

The SDG National Stakeholder Forum due to take place in September, will also be based around the new National Implementation Plan, and will form a further part of the public consultation.

The draft Implementation Plan, once developed and prior to Government approval and publication, will also be open for consultation for a final round of feedback.