Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 18 May 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement

Shared Island Unit: Department of the Taoiseach (Resumed)

Ms Michelle Gildernew:

It is good to see Ms O'Donoghue and Mr. Duffy again. I know they have been doing a lot of engagements and meetings. Is there an organisational chart of key officials to whom we could talk about different things? What is the make-up of the team working with our guests? Are there many staff involved and are they all based in Dublin? Are any of them based elsewhere? I am sure that if our guests need a permanent home, there is plenty of scope for space in the North.

I am a farmer's daughter. With the environment, talk about climate change and Brexit, our farming communities are feeling very vulnerable and, as custodians of the island, I would be keen for them to be represented. I do not think they were represented in the dialogues event in February, although they may have been and I hope they were. It is important to tie in with farming groups across the island.

I have a specific question about the allocation of €500 million in the shared island fund. I welcome any work that has been done so far on the Ulster Canal and the Sligo to Enniskillen greenway. That is all very important for my constituency. Have there been any conversations with the Minister for Infrastructure in the North about the Enniskillen bypass and whether any of that money is likely to be allocated from the fund to ensure that work goes ahead?

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