Written answers
Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Department of An Taoiseach
Departmental Projects
Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source
9. To ask the Taoiseach to provide details of all projects, including research projects, funded to date by his Department’s shared island initiative. [1529/25]
Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source
Since the launch of the Shared Island Initiative in 2020, over €500m has been allocated by Government to a range of major cross-border projects and programmes, delivered in cooperation with the Northern Ireland Executive, the UK Government and with Local Authority, Education and Civil Society partners across the island. A full list of Shared Island Fund allocations made by Government to date is provided in tabular form.
The Shared Island Unit in the Department of the Taoiseach is coordinating a wide-ranging policy research programme. The most recent Shared Island research by the Economic and Social Research Institute was published on 16 January on Child Poverty on the island of Ireland. A list of research projects commissioned by the Shared Island Unit and published to date is provided in tabular form and all reports are published and available at: .
Table 1:
| Shared Island Fund allocations as of January 2025 |
|---|
| Development of two new all-island bioeconomy demonstrator facilities - €7m Taken forward by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine in cooperation with Executive counterpart |
| Pilot cooperation programme on educational attainment - €24m Taken forward by the Minister for Education in cooperation with Executive counterpart |
| Shared Island Enterprise scheme - €30m Taken forward by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment in cooperation with Executive counterpart |
| Shared Island dimension to Community Climate Action Programme - €3m Taken forward by the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications |
| Shared Island Civic Society Fund - €2m (total €3m fund including D/FA contribution) Taken forward by the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs |
| North South Research Programme contribution (rounds 1 and 2, 2022-2027) - €50m Taken forward by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science [Information on research funded to date through the Higher Education Authority North South Research Programme is at ]. |
| Ulster University - new teaching and student services building in Derry - €44.5m Taken forward by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research Innovation and Science in cooperation with Executive counterpart and Ulster University |
| All-Island Co-Centres for Research and Innovation contribution - €20m Taken forward by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science in cooperation with Executive and UK Government counterparts |
| Construction of respite and therapeutic centre for children diagnosed with cancer from across the island - €2.5m Taken forward by the Minister for Health |
| Construction of the Narrow Water Bridge - €107m plus VAT. Taken forward by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in cooperation with Executive counterpart |
| Phases 2 and 3 Ulster Canal restoration contribution - €47m Taken forward by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in cooperation with Executive counterpart |
| Cross-border innovation hub - €12m - Taken forward by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in cooperation with Local Authority partners |
| All-island peatlands and biosecurity projects - €11m Taken forward by Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in cooperation with Executive and Scottish Government counterparts |
| Shared Island Local Authority development funding scheme - €5m Taken forward by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage |
| Renewed visitor experience at the Battle of the Boyne site - €10m Taken forward by the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works |
| Casement Park redevelopment contribution - €50m Taken forward by Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media in cooperation with Executive counterpart |
| Shared Island dimension to Creative Ireland and cultural heritage projects - €8m Taken forward by the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media |
| Tourism brand collaboration project - €7.6m Taken forward by Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media in cooperation with Executive counterpart |
| All-Island arts capital investment projects - €7.4m Taken forward by the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media in cooperation with Executive counterpart |
| Electric Vehicle charging point scheme for Sports Clubs across the island - €15m Taken forward by the Minister for Transport |
| Introduction of an hourly rail service between Dublin and Belfast - €12.5m Taken forward by the Minister for Transport |
| Completion of the cross-border Carlingford Lough Greenway - €1.5m Taken forward by the Minister for Transport in cooperation with Executive counterpart |
Table 2:
| Research commissioned by Shared Island Unit, Department of the Taoiseach |
|---|
| Economic and Social Research Institute joint research programme on Shared Island: ·Synthesis report on learnings from ESRI joint research programme (in progress). ·Economic overview of Ireland and Northern Ireland (in progress). ·Child Poverty on the island of Ireland (January 2025). ·Drivers of Income Inequality in Ireland and Northern Ireland (October 2024). ·Gender and Labour Market Inclusion on the Island of Ireland (April 2024). ·Contrasting Housing Supply in Ireland, Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom (January 2024). ·Changing Social and Political Attitudes in Ireland and Northern Ireland (November 2023). ·Student Mobility in Ireland and Northern Ireland (September 2023). ·Migrant Integration in Ireland, North and South (March 2023). ·Children’s Care and Early Education in Ireland, North and South (January 2023). ·Calculating the Benefit of All-Island Coordination of Energy Infrastructure and Renewable Energy Supports (December 2022). ·Modelling Productivity Levels in Ireland and Northern Ireland (November 2022). ·A North-South Comparison of Education and Training Systems: lessons for policy (April 2022). ·An Analysis of the Primary Care Systems of Ireland and Northern Ireland (March 2022). ·Enhancing the Attractiveness of the island of Ireland to High-value Foreign Direct Investment (December 2021). ·Cross-border Trade in Services (December 2021). |
| National Economic and Social Council: ·Comprehensive Report: Shared Island; Shared Opportunity (April 2022). ·Shared Island Collaboration on Climate and Biodiversity (October 2021). |
| Standing Conference on Teacher Education North and South (SCoTENS): ·EDUCATE: Educating about Difference Uniting Classrooms and Teacher Education (November 2024). ·CRiTERiA: Cultural Responsivity in Teacher Education: Research in Action (October 2024). ·SRASI: Shared Responsibility Across a Shared Island (October 2023). ·SHARED: Student Hopes: Achievement, Research, Equity and Diversity (October 2022). ·BUDDIES: BUilding BriDges, Diminishing Educational DiSadvantage (October 2022). |
| Irish Research Council New Foundations programme (Shared Island strand): 2022 funding call: ·Public Policy Agendas on a Shared Island. ·Strengthening the regional impact of higher education: a comparative scoping study of regional higher education strategies, policies and provision in the NorthWest of the island of Ireland, Scotland and Wales. ·Doing Feminist Legal Work. ·An All-Island consortium to foster Educational Neuroscience research and practice. ·Towards an Intersectoral All-Island Network for Circular Bioeconomy Entrepreneurship (AINCBE). ·Addressing Biodiversity Loss with Sustainable Finance: An All-Island Research Initiative. ·Audience Data for Cultural Policy: A Shared Island Approach to the Creative Industries. ·All Ireland Rare Disease Inter-Disciplinary Research Network (RAiN). 2021 funding call: ·Towards A Fair and Prosperous Island: An All-Island Network to Combat Hate. ·Assisting the Irish churches and religious communities to develop values-based common positions on current European issues and to engage with European counterparts. ·Appraise Curriculum Content for Entrepreneurship in Secondary Schools. ·Negotiating difference on a shared island: agonism, commonality, or critical constitutionalism. ·Brexit at the Border: Intergroup Relations on the Shared Island. ·Providing a multidisciplinary expert network to promote and support implementation of a circular economy on the island of Ireland, AICEG (All-Island Circular Economy Group). ·North South Legal Mapping Project. ·Reading Rooms: Fostering Constructive & Inclusive Dialogue Between Communities. ·Éire strategy for QUantum Information and TechnologY. ·Building Capacity for the Cultural Industries: Towards a Shared-Island Approach. ·Exploring the Economic, Political, Societal and Health Benefits of an All-Island Cancer Research Institute (AICRI): Strengthening Collaboration in Cancer Research Throughout the Island of Ireland. |
| Other commissioned research: ·A study into the current conditions of the island of Ireland labour market, and challenges and opportunities for effective operation for workers and businesses across the island – commissioned by the Labour Employment Economic Forum Shared Island Working Group (November 2024). ·Collaborating on Healthcare on an All-Island Basis – Professor Deirdre Heenan, commissioned as discussion paper contribution for the Shared Island Dialogue on Health (July 2021). |
| Research co-funded by the Shared Island Unit with the Office of Emergency Planning: ·Advancing a Focused Cross-Border Approach to Public Service Messaging in Emergency Management (June 2024). ·Communicating for Impact: Public Safety Messaging for Border Communities (in progress). ·Advancing a Focused All-Island and Cross-Border Approach to Planning for Recovery in Strategic Emergency Management (in progress). |
No comments