Sustainable Development goals (SDGs)

As part of our national response to the Sustainable Development goals (SDGs), Ireland is committed to developing a whole-of-government approach to issues such as taxation, illicit financial flows and domestic resource mobilisation, promoting Ireland’s position at EU, OECD and other international fora. This will be overseen through our national SDG implementation plan and the voluntary national reporting (VNR) process.

Completion Status:
⚠ Unqualified*

*commitment is not specific or/and not measurable

Commitment filtering:

Specific:yes

This commitment refers to specific policy objectives, namely SDGs 16.4 (“By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organised crime”) and 17.1 (“Strengthen domestic resource mobilisation, including through international support to developing countries, to improve domestic capacity for tax and other revenue collection”). It also refers to specific mechanisms through which these will be approached, i.e., the SDG implementation plan and VNR process.

Measurable: ❌ no

Ireland’s SDG National Implementation Plan 2018-2020[1] lacks detail on specific actions by which this commitment could be measured. Ireland’s last VNR was carried out in 2018, the same year as the IACC commitments were made; it is therefore not possible to use it to monitor IACC commitments. Ireland’s SDG Policy Map[2], which tracks the implementation of SDGs, was last updated in May 2021 and indicates that the commitment is in progress in connection with 16.4 (through working groups, stakeholder meetings, and a national review procedure “to be determined”). In connection with SDG 17.1, however, the SDG Policy Map generically notes extensive consultation with stakeholders in the development of A Better World, Ireland’s international development policy, and “with civil society stakeholders on an ongoing basis”. There is no reference to engagement with tax-collection authorities in developing countries. The lack of pertinent detail in the SDG Policy Map suggests that this commitment may not have been adequately considered at the outset. The relevant government departments did not respond to requests for further information.

[1] Government of Ireland, Sustainable Development Goals National Implementation Plan 2018-2020, https://assets.gov.ie/19344/32f9bdd2aae2464caae37760edd1da04.pdf.

[2] Government of Ireland, Sustainable Development Goals Policy Map, p. 48 (SDG 16.4) and p. 51 (SDG 17.1), https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/134966/fde13b12-89b7-4a3e-a351-6f28690d1d6a.pdf.



Last updated: 31 December 2021
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