Transforming Our World
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
At the midway point of the 2030 Agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals are significantly off-track worldwide. This is in part due to the combined impacts of COVID-19, global instability and conflict, including the war in Ukraine, all in the context of climate change. However, progress was already lagging behind before recent crises.
Every SDG has been affected: the eradication of poverty has slowed significantly; food security is under immense pressure; the pandemic has set back health and education; and we are seeing a pushback against gender equality. Ireland has worked to counter these negative trends, protect hard-won gains, and advance progress where possible.
The primary way in which Ireland contributes to the achievement of the SDGs internationally is through our international development programme. We provide official development assistance (ODA) to support the most vulnerable people in more than 130 countries.
To this end, we form partnerships with governments, international and multilateral organisations, local civil society groups and international non-governmental organisations. We remain convinced that global problems can only be tackled through collective action.
Ireland takes a whole-of-government approach to international development. Successful implementation relies on effective cooperation across the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Health Service Executive, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications and the Department of Finance, among others.
Funding to Ireland’s international development programme has increased significantly in the period since Ireland’s last Voluntary National Review: Ireland’s ODA budget has grown from €792 million in 2018 to €1.233 billion in 2023 – a 56% increase. Contributing to global sustainable development is clearly not just about the quantity of development assistance, but also its quality.
The OECD Development Assistance Committee’s peer review of Ireland’s development programme in 2020 concluded that “Ireland is a strong voice for sustainable development, leading and supporting policy dialogue at both international and local levels… Walking the talk, Ireland allocates its ODA to least developed countries and fragile states, priority partners and sectors… This clear focus enables Ireland, as a relatively small donor, to exercise leadership and make a visible difference.”
Ireland also supports the achievement of the SDGs through our diplomatic and normative work. We are a leading advocate for human rights, civic space and multilateralism; values which underpin and cut across all the SDGs. In 2021-22, Ireland used our term as an elected member of the UN Security Council to advance these values.
This is a consistent aspect of our work across multilateral fora, including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties; the governing bodies of UN funds and programmes; international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF; and the European Union. It is also mirrored in our work to influence national governments through our bilateral relationships.
Leaving no one behind is at the heart of A Better World. In fact, the policy goes beyond leaving no one behind to emphasise reaching those furthest behind first. In many ways, this is an evolution of Ireland’s traditional focus on reaching the “poorest of the poor” to a more multidimensional and intersectional understanding of how different drivers of vulnerability interact.
As a result, many of our longstanding priority areas, our ways of working and our partnership modalities are well-placed to reach those furthest behind; however they have been updated to maximise our impact.
Many of our funding streams have explicit criteria requiring partners to focus on leaving no one behind or reaching the furthest behind first. The Multilateral Operational Framework requires partners to “support the drive to reach the furthest behind first”, and Ireland seeks to ensure that UN development partners realise this commitment on the ground, through an intersectional approach.
Ireland’s Civil Society Partnership for a Better World has a specific focus on reaching the furthest behind first, with all the funded programmes focused on addressing the needs of the most vulnerable. Most of our Embassy-managed bilateral development programmes are in least developed countries, and all focus on the most vulnerable groups.
We also push for the prioritisation of those left behind in our diplomatic work. Notably, as a member of the UN Security Council, Ireland sought to include strong human rights language into resolutions and statements.
For example, Ireland consistently raised concerns about the safety and agency of human rights defenders, women’s rights activists and indigenous and Afro-Colombian social leaders in Colombia, while strongly supporting the Colombian Peace Accord.
Ireland also supports people from least developed countries (LDCs), small island developing states (SIDS) and marginalised groups to participate fully, equally and meaningfully in political processes.
Ireland’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security commits us to championing women’s right to equal participation and their important role as leaders in all peacebuilding processes.
Ireland provides financial support to attendees from the most vulnerable countries in international climate conferences through the UNFCCC Trust Fund for Participation and the Women’s Delegates Fund.
We also fund the Voluntary Technical Assistance Trust Fund to support the participation of LDCs and SIDS in the work of the Human Rights Council. Finally, we consistently advocate for increased African and SIDS representation in the UN Security Council.