Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Andrew Doyle, T.D., was in New York this week to represent Ireland at the High Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development (HLPF). The HLPF meets annually to review global progress in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals. This year’s HLPF is themed around “Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world”.

The Minster noted that: “Women constitute the majority of the world’s poor and are more dependent for their livelihood on natural resources. Climate change is undermining the well-being of many families and their ability to cope.   Its impacts are far-reaching as it affects agriculture and food security, biodiversity and ecosystems, water resources, human health, human settlements and migration patterns. As challenges for poor communities intensify, Ireland will continue to focus in particular on action to help such communities to adapt and in the longer term to end extreme poverty, hunger and under-nutrition by 2030.”

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), agreed by the UN membership in 2015, address the root causes of poverty and the universal need for development that works for all people by 2030. The Goals cover policy areas such as ending extreme poverty, ending hunger and achieving global food security, economic development, protection of the environment, access to health and education services, gender equality, peaceful societies and human rights.  In his statement, Minister Doyle additionally referred to the importance of young people in implementing the SDGs.

As well as delivering Ireland’s national statement to the HLPF, Minister Doyle met with representatives of the World Food Programme (WFP) to discuss challenges facing that organisation and how they can support implementation of the SDGs.

Minister Doyle also contributed to the SDG Business Forum on the theme of ending hunger and said “Agricultural management embodies how the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainable development interact and are mutually reinforcing. Sustainable agriculture supports the environment and can combat desertification and other negative impacts of climate change. It can promote decent livelihoods and lift people out of poverty. When we manage agriculture well we reduce pressures on cities, reduce involuntary migration and build resilience and support sustainable development.”

Note for Editors:

In October 2014, Ireland’s Ambassador to the UN (H.E. David Donoghue) was appointed by the UN to co-facilitate the intergovernmental negotiations (IGN) which resulted in the adoption of the SDGs in September 2015. The 17 SDG’s, also known as the Global Goals, follow on from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) but are significantly wider in scope and higher in ambition. Also, the SDGs apply universally to both developed and developing nations. The HLPF meets annually at Ministerial level to review progress in implementing the Goals, and once every four years at Head of State or Government level. Ireland will present its first formal report (referred to as a ‘Voluntary National Review) on national implementation of the SDGs to the HLPF in 2018.

To view this Press Release as a PDF: DAFMPR 138/2017 (pdf 462Kb) 

Date Released: 19 July 2017