Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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20. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the funding timeframe within the shared island unit for the proposed Narrow Water bridge between counties Louth and Down. [31382/20]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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In Budget 2021, An Taoiseach announced that the Irish Government is providing the resources to deliver on its commitment to build a shared island underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement. In this context, An Taoiseach launched the Shared Island Fund with a planned €500 million to be made available over the next five years to 2025.

Funding will be allocated to Government Departments and Agencies to fund a variety of cross-border projects, in line with commitments in the Programme for Government which includes working with the Northern Ireland Executive to deliver key cross-border infrastructure initiatives.

Following on from the Fresh Start Agreement, the "New Decade, New Approach" document indicates that the Government is ready to jointly progress consideration of options for the development of the Narrow Water bridge project at the North South Ministerial Council.

Options for the development of the Narrow Water Bridge project are under examination at present taking into account other proposed road projects in the area including the Newry Southern Relief Road, as well as the necessary appraisal requirements that all capital projects must undergo, in both Northern Ireland and here. Consideration of options for a bridge has not yet reached a sufficiently advanced stage where there is a clearly defined and costed scheme with a corresponding funding timeframe.