OECD Policy Coherence Scan of Ireland

Annex B. Workshop proceedings: PCSD actions in Ireland’s Third National Implementation Plan for the Sustainable Development Goals

Purpose

This guidance document builds on the OECD-PCSD mission to Dublin, conducted from 24 to 26 March 2025, as part of the broader EU-funded project “23IE10 – Building Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD) across national and local government in Ireland”. This technical support initiative, funded through the EU Technical Support Instrument (TSI) in partnership with SG REFORM, aims to strengthen Ireland’s institutional capacities to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through more coherent policy design and delivery. The national authority that requested technical support is the SDGs Unit within the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment (DCEE) in Ireland.

The OECD-PCSD workshops in Dublin (with government officials on 24-25 March and with non-government stakeholders on 26 March) were organised by DECC and facilitated by the OECD. They brought together key federal institutions, peers from Portugal, and non-governmental stakeholders to reflect on Ireland’s progress and opportunities in strengthening PCSD. Through collaborative discussions, the workshops contributed to validating the preliminary findings and recommendation, ensuring that they reflect Ireland’s current national context and needs.  

Specifically, the workshops aimed to:

• Inform the Third National Implementation Plan (NIP) on the SDGs. The mission contributed to inputs which can be used to inform the development of the policy coherence chapter of Ireland’s upcoming NIP by providing actionable recommendations on how to enhance horizontal and vertical coherence in SDG implementation. Drawing on the OECD’s analytical framework and international experience, this report provides a detailed analysis of the workshop’s outcomes in an effort to support Ireland in mainstreaming PCSD across government structures and policy cycles to achieve more integrated and sustainable policy outcomes.

• Bridge Policy Design and Implementation Gaps. The workshop enabled open dialogue among government institutions, civil society, academia, business, and OECD experts to identify institutional and operational gaps between policy ambition and on-the-ground implementation. It focused on identifying mechanisms—such as inter-ministerial coordination bodies, integrated policy tools, and improved data systems—that can institutionalise coherence both horizontally (across sectors and departments) and vertically (across levels of government).

• Promote Inclusive and Deliberative Approaches. A key aim of the mission was to advance deliberative and participatory processes in Ireland’s SDG implementation. The workshop emphasised the importance of multi-stakeholder engagement and co-creation in shaping policies that reflect societal priorities. This aligns with the OECD’s recommendation to embed inclusive governance practices as a means to enhance policy relevance, trust, and legitimacy.

This document summarises the discussions and key takeaways from the two workshops. It can serve as a practical tool to assist policymakers in leveraging PCSD as a key enabler for achieving better policy outcomes across national and local institutions.

Context and National Process for Elaborating the Third NIP

Ireland is in the process of formulating its Third National Implementation Plan (NIP) for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), building upon the foundations laid by the previous plans, the First and Second NIP. The development of this plan involves a comprehensive and inclusive approach, ensuring alignment with both national and local priorities and international commitments.

Whole-of-Government Approach

The DCEE has overarching responsibility for promoting and overseeing the coherent implementation of the SDGs across all government departments. This approach ensures that each minister has specific responsibility for implementing SDG targets related to their functions, fostering a collaborative environment for sustainable development.

Governance Structures

To facilitate effective coordination and implementation, Ireland has established several governance structures:

• SDG Senior Officials' Group (SOG): Comprised of senior officials from all government departments, this group provides strategic overview of SDG Implementation, monitoring performance and reporting on progress at political level.

• SDG Interdepartmental Working Group (IDWG): This group, also consisting of representatives from all departments, supports the work of the SOG and facilitates cross-government SDG engagement, coordinating strategic communication on the SDGs and Ireland’s implementation; preparing national SDG progress reports, including Voluntary National Reviews; and developing the national implementation plans.

• SDG Data Governance Board (SDG-DGB): Chaired by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), this board focuses on sourcing, developing, and reporting statistical data for SDG indicators, ensuring robust monitoring and reporting mechanisms.

Stakeholder Engagement

Recognising the importance of inclusive participation, Ireland has restructured the SDG National Stakeholder Forum. An SDG Forum Committee has been established to redesign the forum format based on stakeholder feedback. This committee includes representation from various sectors, ensuring that stakeholders feel a sense of ownership and can contribute effectively to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Integration of Policy Coherence

Policy coherence is identified as a strategic priority in Ireland's second SDG National Implementation Plan. The plan outlines how government departments, through existing national policies, contribute to achieving the SDGs and addresses potential trade-offs to promote coherence. This approach ensures that sustainable development is integrated across various policy areas, reflecting a commitment to a holistic and coordinated response. ​

Through these structured processes and collaborative efforts, Ireland aims to develop a Third NIP that not only advances national sustainable development objectives but also contributes meaningfully to global SDG commitments.

Together with this overarching framework, the development of the Third NIP is supported by national strategic documents:

The 2025 Programme for Government (PfG)1. The PfG presents in its chapter on “Protecting the Environment” (pp 49-60) several government commitments to achieve the SDGs, including one to “implement a whole-of-government strategy to fully integrate the SDGs into national policies and initiatives, ensuring that each goal is actively pursued across all levels of government”.

The Second National Implementation Plan (2022-2024)2. In its chapter 4 on “Embedding the SDG Framework into the Work of Government Departments”, the Government commits in section 4.3 to taking key concrete actions to work toward greater policy coherence for sustainable development, including ensuring that all new policies incorporate references to relevant SDGs and targets.” (Action 23)

Methodology

The development of this guidance has been based on a two-pronged methodological approach, combining an Institutional Scan with two OECD-facilitated workshops to ensure the recommendations are both evidence-based and validated through an inclusive consultation process.

Institutional Scan

The Institutional Scan provided an assessment of Ireland’s existing policy coherence mechanisms and institutional arrangements for sustainable development at the National and Local level. Conducted through desk research, structured interviews, and a review of key policy documents, the scan aimed to:

• Identify strengths and gaps in Ireland’s current approach to Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD).

• Assess institutional coordination mechanisms and their effectiveness in integrating sustainability objectives across federal policies.

• Benchmark Ireland’s performance against international best practices.

The findings from this scan formed the analytical foundation for the recommendations proposed in this guidance.

Stakeholder Workshop

To complement the Institutional Scan, two OECD-facilitated workshops were organised as part of the consultation process for Ireland’s Third National Implementation Plan (NIP). The first workshop (24–25 March 2025) brought together government officials to discuss findings and explore practical mechanisms to enhance policy coherence for sustainable development (PCSD) within government structures. The second workshop (26 March 2025) engaged key external stakeholders—civil society, academia, and the business community—to validate key challenges and co-develop actionable recommendations for integrating PCSD into the Third NIP. Both workshops aimed to:

• Engage stakeholders from across departments and civil society to foster a shared understanding of policy coherence challenges and opportunities.

• Validate findings from the Institutional Scan by gathering insights from policymakers and practitioners.

• Present the result of the SDG skills assessment to reflect on current SDG awareness among Irish civil servants and inform discussion on capacity development.

• Co-create solutions by discussing practical tools, mechanisms, and governance arrangements that could enhance policy coherence in the next NIP.

• Facilitate peer learning through the participation of international experts and representatives from other countries implementing PCSD strategies.

The workshops were structured to facilitate an in-depth exploration of policy coherence for sustainable development (PCSD) through a dynamic and participatory format. There were three thematic sessions (explained in more detail in Chapter 4) which were designed to identify a cluster of administrative and functional tools, mechanisms, and practices that Ireland could consider integrating into its approach to PCSD in SDG implementation. Plenary sessions set the stage with insights from the OECD Institutional Scan, highlighting key issues, recommendations, and international best practices relevant to each pillar. In the breakout groups, participants engaged in targeted discussions guided by OECD experts, focusing on practical initiatives to enhance PCSD within the framework of the Ireland’s Third National Implementation Plan (NIP).

This structure ensured that discussions were not only reflective of the OECD Council Recommendation on PCSD but also directly linked to Ireland’s policy context. The workshop’s concluding session consolidated key findings, with rapporteurs presenting outcomes and OECD facilitators synthesising insights into actionable recommendations. These takeaways, compiled into this final Guidance, that provides a structured input to align the third NIP more explicitly with PCSD principles, reinforcing Ireland’s commitment to sustainable and coherent policymaking.

The combination of the Institutional Scan and the two Government and non-government Workshops will help to ensure that the guidance is not only rooted in robust analysis but also reflects current realities and priorities of Ireland’s national and local institutions.

Actions to enhance PCSD

The workshops identified a set of strategic and operational measures to enhance policy coherence across government levels, sectors, and actors, grounded in the OECD PCSD Recommendation and structured around three main pillars. The discussions reflected a strong consensus on the importance of embedding the SDGs systematically throughout Ireland’s governance and implementation systems, from visioning and leadership to stakeholder engagement and monitoring.

The PCSD Recommendation consists of eight guiding principles, structured around three main pillars:

• Pillar 1. A Strategic Vision for implementing the 2030 Agenda, emphasising political commitment and leadership for enhancing PCSD. This involves building inclusive political support, defining priority areas and key performance indicators, and ensuring that commitment to PCSD is sustained across governmental changes.

• Pillar 2. Effective and Inclusive Institutional Mechanisms for addressing policy interactions across sectors and aligning actions between levels of government. This includes whole-of-government coordination, capacity building for PCSD within public administrations, and engaging sub-national levels of government in policy coordination for sustainable development.

• Pillar 3. Responsive and Adaptive Tools to anticipate, assess, and address domestic, transboundary, and long-term impacts of policies. Adherents are encouraged to introduce regular assessments, strengthen monitoring and evaluation systems, and integrate policy coherence dimensions in evaluation systems to inform decision-making.

Building on these three pillars, the following presents an overview of the key insights and considerations that emerged from both workshops.

Pillar 1: A Strategic Vision for Implementing the 2030 Agenda

Workshop participants underlined that Ireland has demonstrated significant progress in developing a national framework for SDG implementation, underpinned by political commitment and strategic planning processes. However, institutional mechanisms for coherence and SDG mainstreaming remain uneven and, in some cases, informal or siloed.

There was broad recognition that awareness of the SDGs is relatively high at the “core”—among central departments and committed actors. However, this awareness becomes diluted further away from those core areas and actors. The challenge is to move from a network of well-informed individuals to a government-wide system that institutionalises knowledge, roles, and responsibilities in ways that are resilient to turnover, political change, and capacity gaps.

Stakeholders expressed the need to embed SDGs into everyday practices—not only through strategic documents and political rhetoric but via practical mechanisms such as central review functions, departmental self-assessments, and interdepartmental coordination platforms. Several breakout groups suggested the idea of a centralised SDG Policy Screening Tool (potentially supported by AI) that would allow new legislation and policy proposals to be evaluated for their SDG alignment.

The idea of a national SDG vision—possibly under the banner of “Ireland 2050”—also emerged. Such a vision could articulate a long-term, iterative commitment to the 2030 Agenda beyond the limits of individual electoral cycles, thus insulating the SDGs from the volatility of political transitions.

Participants also reflected on the need to translate strategic commitments into operational tools, such as SEAs, public procurement rules, budgeting frameworks, and performance assessments. These tools, if aligned with the SDGs, could significantly improve cross-sectoral coherence and encourage sustainable policy design.

Summary Key Challenges Identified:

• Diffuse SDG ownership across departments.

• Fragmented understanding of SDGs' relevance outside central actors.

• Structured leadership roles lacking at some administrative levels.

Proposed Actions:

• Establish governmental SDG Champions3: Appoint formal SDG “champions” within each department or sector, empowered with resources, mandates, and visibility to promote integration and accountability. Encouraging voluntary government-wide “communities of practice” -- voluntary groupings of policy analysts, planners and programme and service delivery agents – to share practical evidence on what works, what does not and why in integrating SDG considerations into policy and service design and delivery generally across the government was also highlighted as a possible tool to mainstream SDG awareness and ownership across the system.

• Develop a Forward-Looking Ireland 2050 SDG Vision: Move beyond short-term plans and articulate a national vision for the SDGs that emphasizes their iterative and long-term nature. This would support alignment across political cycles.

• Institutionalise SDG Reviews: Introduce a centralised SDG policy screening mechanism to review draft legislation, policies, and budgets through a coherence lens. Departments should also conduct internal “self-assessments” against SDG priorities.

• Strengthen the Interdepartmental Working Group (IDWG): Clarify and expand its role in horizontal coordination, knowledge-sharing, and decision-making, ideally elevating its authority and resourcing.

• Integrate SDG Framing into National Policy Tools: Embed SDG language and coherence checks into central policy instruments such as strategic environmental assessments (SEAs), public procurement guidelines, and budgeting tools.

Pillar 2: Effective and Inclusive Institutional Mechanisms

The discussion under this pillar brought to the forefront the dual challenge of vertical coordination (national–local) and horizontal engagement (across sectors and stakeholders). Many participants felt that effective SDG localization is already taking place across Ireland but is often invisible, under-resourced, or misaligned with national planning frameworks.

Participants stressed that local governments are keen to contribute to the SDG agenda but often lack the institutional support, guidance, and incentives to do so effectively. To address this, there were calls for a national resource hub or platform to provide structured support to local authorities—helping reduce fragmentation and promote coherence across jurisdictions.

One promising idea was the introduction of light-touch annual SDG checks for local authorities (potentially supported by AI), which would serve both as an accountability mechanism and a feedback loop to share innovations and flag challenges.

Stakeholders emphasised the need for peer learning spaces, national branding, and communication strategies to promote local engagement. Simple steps—such as using the SDG logo in local initiatives—could boost visibility and legitimacy.

The civil society day further reinforced that stakeholder engagement mechanisms are fragile and often operate without clear mandates, feedback loops, or resourcing. Participants recalled the success of Ireland’s Citizens' Assemblies and called for a similar deliberative forum focused on the SDGs, enabling direct public input on national strategies and trade-offs.

There was strong support for building on what already works, such as the Public Participation Networks (PPNs), County and City Management Association (CCMA) and the Climate Action Regional Offices (CAROs), rather than creating parallel structures. This includes clarifying mandates, facilitating dialogue, and elevating successful models like the Sustainable Mobility Stakeholder Group.

Summary of Key Challenges Identified:

• Fragmentation between national and local levels.

• Siloed implementation across departments and authorities.

• Underutilised multi-stakeholder platforms.

• Weak feedback loops from consultation to implementation.

Proposed Actions:

• Create a National SDG Resource Hub or extend the use of the SDG Geohive: A centralised platform could support local authorities, agencies and other stakeholders with guidance, best practices, tools, training, and technical assistance—reducing the burden on local actors and building implementation capacity.

• Introduce Annual SDG checks for Local Authorities: A light-touch but regular check-in mechanism to track local progress, identify support needs, and ensure visibility.

• Use Branding and Communication Strategically: Leverage the SDG logo and visual identity to build public recognition and legitimacy around local and national initiatives. Develop a national communications campaign to re-energise the agenda.

• Reinforce Multi-Stakeholder Platforms: Establish formal stakeholder groups with clear mandates, responsibilities, and access to decision-makers (not just representatives), drawing on successful models like the Sustainable Mobility Stakeholder Group.

• Localise Through Existing Structures: Rather than creating new systems, build on successful models like Climate Action Regional Offices (CAROs), County and City Management Association (CCMA), and Public Participation Networks (PPNs) to support localisation and citizen engagement. The government’s approach to managing the Covid crisis was also mentioned as a possible blueprint for mainstreaming SDG awareness and actions.

• Launch Citizens’ Assemblies on the SDGs: Modelled on Ireland’s successful biodiversity and climate assemblies, this would foster public deliberation on trade-offs and priorities and generate bottom-up legitimacy.

• Map and Clarify Roles Across Levels: Conduct a national mapping of who does what in SDG implementation to avoid overlap, clarify mandates, and ensure coherence across levels and sectors.

• Citizen Activation and Educational Measures: Leverage experience and knowledge from organisations such as, for example, ‘An Taisce’ (the National Trust for Ireland) which is the National Operator for all international environmental education programmes of FEE (Foundation for Environmental Education) and receives funding from the Government for a number of its education programmes  - i.e. Green Schools, Blue Flag Beaches -  and a mix of private and government funding for the annual ‘National Spring Clean’. (Programmes | An Taisce - The National Trust For Ireland). An Taisce has been an SDG Champion appointed by DCEE (and now SDG Ambassador) so has a strong role in promoting the SDGs. 

Pillar 3: Responsive and Adaptive Tools for Policy Coherence

Pillar 3 focused on the critical role of data, monitoring, and learning systems in ensuring that SDG implementation is not only tracked, but also continuously improved. While Ireland has an extensive ecosystem of data tools—GeoHive, CSO databases, wellbeing indicators, environmental accounting frameworks—many participants agreed that these tools are underutilised for SDG monitoring.

Multiple groups highlighted a disconnect between data availability and decision-making. In some cases, indicators are not aligned with the SDGs, or reporting structures make it difficult to link existing data to specific SDG targets. Moreover, where data exists, it is often not disaggregated, not updated frequently enough, or not user-friendly.

Participants proposed leveraging public procurement, budgetary tagging, and performance frameworks to link policy tools directly with SDG metrics. Some also emphasised the untapped role of civil society as a generator of qualitative and community-level data—particularly for vulnerable or underrepresented populations.

Several groups proposed creating an integrated monitoring platform, similar to those used in wellbeing policy or environmental protection, to consolidate SDG data and make it actionable. This platform could also enable real-time feedback to policymakers, mirroring the kind of adaptive governance witnessed during Ireland’s COVID-19 response.

There was consensus on the need to strengthen the role of the Central Statistics Office (CSO)—making it more proactive, equipping it to lead in SDG-relevant data design, and possibly institutionalizing “data task forces” that collaborate with departments on evidence use.

Finally, equity and the Leave No One Behind (LNOB) principle were emphasised as cross-cutting issues. Participants stressed that both quantitative and qualitative measures are needed to track disparities and assess how policies affect different groups.

Summary of Key Challenges Identified:

• Underutilised data systems and poor integration with SDG tracking.

• Lack of user-friendly, accessible platforms (e.g., issues with GeoHive).

• Insufficient disaggregation of data and indicators for equity tracking.

• Absence of real-time monitoring and adaptive feedback loops.

Proposed Actions:

• Build an Integrated SDG Monitoring Platform: Like the “Bing PubHub” platform for wellbeing, Ireland needs a centralised, user-friendly platform to bring together SDG data, progress tracking, and narrative framing.

• Strengthen integrated monitoring: Leverage existing tracking tools used for wellbeing, green budgeting, and equality also for the SDGs.

• Use Public Procurement as a Data Generator: Track and analyse the coherence and sustainability of procurement practices to create a feedback loop on SDG-aligned expenditure.

• Reform the Role of CSO (Central Statistics Office): Enable CSO to take a proactive role in SDG tracking, including disaggregated data production, inequality tracking, and real-time responsiveness.

• Promote Civil Society as a Data Partner: Recognise civil society not only as stakeholders but as data contributors—particularly in capturing qualitative, local-level, and equity-related insights.

• Mainstream the Leave No One Behind (LNOB) Framework: Prioritise tracking the “first left behind” to ensure SDG implementation addresses the most vulnerable. Use both quantitative and qualitative tools for a full picture.

• Simplify and Harmonize Indicators: Align SDG indicators with existing frameworks (e.g., Wellbeing Framework, Natural Capital Accounting) to avoid duplication and improve clarity across policy cycles.

• Institutionalize Feedback Mechanisms: Every engagement—whether a stakeholder forum or a data collection exercise—should include a follow-up plan showing how input was used. This boosts legitimacy and sustained participation.

Strategic take-aways

SDG Awareness and Leadership Must Expand Beyond the “Core”

While there is strong awareness and engagement among key institutions, particularly within the DCEE and a few core departments, this awareness tends to diffuse the further one moves away from the central actors. A consistent theme was the need to broaden ownership of the SDGs across the entire public sector, including departments not traditionally associated with sustainability.

From one more strategy to the organising framework for government decision-making; from Strategy to Systems

Participants flagged the notion that the government needs to move from defining its SDG strategy framework as one of several national strategies to mainstreaming its strategic approach to pursuing the SDGs as the government’s organising framework for managing any and all decision-making on strategic policy design and delivery issues. This will require shifting emphasis over time to ensuring that any and all strategic objectives and targets – both policy and spending – across all sector strategies explicitly reflect the SD objectives, goals and performance targets that Ireland has set for itself in its national SD strategic framework, thus driving greater coherence in decision-making as a function of achieving the government’s SD goals.

At the same time, participants across all groups agreed that SDG-aligned strategies are often in place, but institutional systems—budgeting, planning, human resource development, and stakeholder participation—are not fully adapted to deliver them in practice. Moving from policy statements to operational tools is essential in moving toward the full mainstreaming of the SDGs and in applying greater coherence in decision-making to achieve the SDGs more efficiently and effectively.

Tagging Existing Work Instead of Reinventing the Wheel

Rather than creating new frameworks, the Irish system can benefit greatly from mapping and tagging existing efforts (e.g., national strategies, budgeting tools, well-being indicators) to the SDGs. This pragmatic approach helps identify coherence gaps and enables mainstreaming without overwhelming existing capacities.

Inclusion and Feedback

There was a clear civil society “cry for help” for more systematic engagement in SDG-related policymaking, along with stronger feedback loops to show how input leads to action. Without this, consultation fatigue and disengagement are likely to increase.

Vertical and Horizontal Integration

Ireland’s systems show strong vertical coherence in some areas (national-local) but weaker horizontal coherence (interdepartmental). Both axes need to be addressed through formal coordination mechanisms, clearer roles, and more resourced cross-sectoral working groups.

Next Steps

The PCSD workshop in Ireland provided an opportunity to discuss a more coherent and inclusive approach to SDG implementation. What emerged clearly is that Ireland has many of the right elements already in place—strong political commitment, innovative tools, and motivated stakeholders across government and civil society. However, turning these building blocks into a fully aligned and effective system for delivering on the 2030 Agenda will require intentional follow-up and structured action.

The OECD PCSD Scan serves as a baseline assessment that can inform ongoing national planning and decision-making. It brings together comparative evidence from other countries and a candid evaluation of where Ireland stands. It can inform the development of the Third National Implementation Plan (NIP), helping to ensure it reflects the realities of current practice while setting an ambitious but achievable agenda for the future.

In order to maintain momentum, it will be important to anchor the workshop outcomes within Ireland’s national processes, ensuring they do not remain a standalone exercise. This means aligning upcoming activities with existing institutional mechanisms like the Interdepartmental Working Group (IDWG), the SDG Stakeholder Forums, and the development of the Third NIP. The scan, workshop insights, and follow-up actions must be used to strengthen—not duplicate—these structures.

Capacity-building also featured prominently in workshop discussions. There is interest in peer learning formats, such as Living Labs, which would allow Ireland to work alongside other countries (like Belgium and Portugal) on common challenges such as regulatory coherence, budgeting tools, and multi-level governance. These exchanges are not only useful for technical learning but also help keep the political momentum alive and broaden the network of change agents.

Finally, the importance of continued communication and inclusiveness was emphasised throughout. Stakeholders—from civil society and local government to academia and industry—must be kept informed and actively involved in next steps. This includes both formal updates and ongoing engagement opportunities.

Notes

← 1.  Programme for Government 2025 - Securing Ireland's Future.

← 2.  National Implementation Plan for the Sustainable Development Goals 2022-2024.

← 3.  This is not to be conflated with the Government’s National SDG Champions Programme, currently in operation.