Ms Émer Deane:

I welcome this opportunity to meet the committee today to provide an update on implementation of the Government's shared island initiative. This is our first opportunity to present to the committee in this Dáil term and I look forward to our continued engagement in the time ahead. As the Cathaoirleach said, I have responsibility at assistant secretary general level in the Department of the Taoiseach for the shared island unit, and I am joined by Eoghan Duffy, principal officer in the unit.

The shared island initiative is a whole-of-government policy to put a sustained strategic focus on the future of the whole island and on how to build a reconciled future together. At the shared island forum event held at Dublin Castle on 10 April, the Taoiseach launched a new phase of the initiative. He set out the Government's all-island investment priorities and objectives, to be resourced by an additional €1 billion to 2035, as provided for in the programme for Government. In doing so, he recalled how the Good Friday Agreement provides the democratic framework and the values for this work. He defined as a goal for the initiative in the time ahead to foster connections in every domain, to bring down barriers and fears, and to support new shared island endeavours that will involve and benefit every town and community throughout the island.

I will now provide a brief overview of the unit's work in supporting the implementation of the Government's agenda in the three related areas of the initiative. These are building a shared island, a research programme on understanding the island and fostering island-wide dialogue. In terms of building a shared island, the programme for Government introduced targets for all Departments to bring forward new project proposals to realise the aims and objectives of the shared island initiative. The national development plan review published on 22 July includes a specific chapter on the shared island, including how the shared island initiative and our investment will continue to contribute to the Government's overall public investment objectives, for instance, in transport, energy, climate action and biodiversity conservation, and competitiveness.

The national development plan also noted where shared island initiative delivery to date has already taken place. This includes the commencement in 2024 of construction of the Narrow Water Bridge, the completion last year of phase 2 of the Ulster Canal, agreement to fund a teaching building as part of the expansion of Ulster University's Derry campus, which has progressed to planning, the introduction of a new hourly-frequency rail service between Belfast and Dublin, which has been in place since last October, the operation of a new enterprise scheme promoting women's entrepreneurship, developing all-island clusters, investing in sustainability action by firms, and a brand collaboration and marketing initiative by tourism agencies to grow tourism in the north west and the north coast region.

Looking ahead, specific investment objectives and commitments set by Government, through the programme for Government and national development plan relevant to the shared island initiative, include working with the Executive to deliver the A5 road upgrade, establishing air connectivity between Dublin and Derry, developing the vision set out in the all-island rail review, deepening collaboration between healthcare systems on the island, developing the all-island skills agenda, fostering further collaboration between start-ups and businesses and working with local authorities as we advance these projects on an all Ireland basis.

The shared island initiative projects are led by Ministers and their Departments and agencies, working with their Northern Ireland or UK counterparts. Funding to deliver projects is and will continue to be drawn from a range of Government sources, with the shared island fund providing additionality to drive and enable all-island reach and investment. The Government's all-island partnership approach is an important feature of delivering projects and programmes. As the Taoiseach said in April, the Government's strengthened partnership with the UK Government and positive engagement with the Northern Ireland Executive, including through the North-South Ministerial Council, now provides the most promising context we have had for years to harness what North-South and east-west partnerships can deliver.

I want to acknowledge the remit and long-standing work of the committee to develop the core relationships of the Good Friday Agreement and the sustained engagement to secure progress on many of the projects and programmes that the shared island initiative has now delivered or which are being progressed through the initiative.

In terms of specific new actions this year, the Government, on 25 February, decided on and announced over €50 million in allocations. These were for sustainable tourism projects, which include amenity development and the promotion of Carlingford Lough, Cuilcagh Lakelands UNESCO geopark and the Slieve Beagh area, to be delivered by tourism agencies and local authorities North and South and overseen by the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment and his Northern counterpart. Arts and cultural heritage funding will include new public facing programmes to deepen cultural co-operation and exchanges North-South and east-west, which will be brought forward shortly by the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport and the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, in co-ordination with Northern Ireland and UK counterparts.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and his Department are continuing the Shared Island civic society fund, with increased resources to support stronger island-wide societal connections. The National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, is working with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency to develop and take forward a new biodiversity programme, including building on successful Natura communities projects in the north west to deliver and foster community led action on nature restoration across the island.

In recent weeks, a number of existing shared island funded projects and programmes have made significant announcements on progress. On 11 August, the Taoiseach and Minister for further and higher education announced the award of funding by the Higher Education Authority, HEA, to four major cross-Border research collaborations through the North-South research programme. On 3 September, the Taoiseach and Ministers for agriculture North and South announced funding awards under the shared island bioeconomy programme for two demonstration projects, one led from Tyrone on bio-based fertiliser products and one led from Meath on converting marine bioproducts to high-value ingredients. On 12 September, the Carlingford Lough greenway was officially opened, delivered with funding through the EU INTERREG programme, the Department for Infrastructure in the North, the Department of Transport and the shared island fund.

Before concluding, there are two aspects of the unit's work on which I would like to take this opportunity to briefly update members of the committee. The first is to recall that research is a core part of the initiative. On 28 April, the Taoiseach launched an overarching report on the unit's joint research programme with the ESRI, which comprises 16 reports to date. The research programme aims to provide a stronger evidence base and deeper analysis of current and potential linkages across the island of Ireland in a range of economic, social and environmental domains. The unit and the ESRI work to support dissemination and engagement with research outputs, including through online and in person events North and South. This will be an even stronger focus in the time ahead.

Other reports published under the research programme this year have included those examining tackling child poverty, the drivers of income inequality and an economic overview of the island.

On 28 April, the Taoiseach also announced a new phase of unit's research programme with the ESRI with a focus on strategic policy and co-operation considerations for both jurisdictions. There will be a focus on some wider societal concerns that have tended to be less prominent in cross-Border co-operation agendas. Research is now under way, to be published later this year or next, on tackling gender-based violence, on disability, on further education pathways and a new annual economic survey of the island as a whole. With the agreement of the Cathaoirleach, I propose that the ESRI and the unit would continue to send these reports to the committee through him as was the practice previously.

Finally, all of the co-operation and research activity of the initiative is informed by the unit's work in fostering inclusive civic dialogue by all communities and traditions on the island to build consensus around a shared future. This work has taken many different forms. It has included 16 ministerial-led dialogues, the work of the shared island youth forum, civil society-led projects supported through the civic society fund, and the online Future Takes discussion series in 2024, highlights from which were viewed over 1 million times. I am aware and grateful that a number of current and former members of this committee have spoken at and attended a number of these dialogue events.

On 10 April, the Taoiseach also announced a major new shared home place programme as part of the initiative which will commence later this year. This will be open to people from every corner of the island to build new connections and consensus on our place-based heritage. The programme will engage with the contributions of Irish, Anglo-Irish and Ulster-Scots traditions across the island of Ireland, recognising how these are an integral part of the heritage of every county and crucial to building consensus on a shared future.

The shared home place programme will also recognise and include the greater ethnic and cultural diversity of this island and, importantly, will engage with the experiences and perspectives of this island's diaspora in Britain, the United States and further afield. The unit is currently working intensively with Departments and agencies on the overall approach to this new cross-government dimension of the initiative. The programme will be announced and commenced by the Taoiseach later this year.

I thank committee members for their time and ongoing interest in the work. I am happy to answer any questions.