Written answers
Tuesday, 13 May 2025
Department of An Taoiseach
Cross-Border Co-operation
Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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73. To ask the Taoiseach if he will provide details of the new projects that will be delivered under the shared island scheme in the next five years. [15702/25]
Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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74. To ask the Taoiseach to provide an update on the shared island initiative. [15844/25]
Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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75. To ask the Taoiseach his views on the positive impact of the shared island fund; and if he will provide an overview of the projects that have been funded fully or in part since 2021. [15845/25]
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 73 to 75, inclusive, together.
On 10 April, I announced the new phase of the Government’s Shared Island Initiative in a keynote address to the 4th Shared Island Forum.
Our Programme for Government sets out an ambitious agenda for building a shared island, backed by a further €1 billion commitment to the Shared Island Fund out to 2035.
On 25 February, the Government announced over €50 million from the Shared Island Fund for new programmes to run over 2025-2030 on: sustainable tourism; arts and cultural heritage; civic society cooperation; and community-led nature restoration.
These programmes will proceed over the next five years, delivered through all-island partnerships, working with the Northern Ireland Executive, UK Government and with local authority, education institution and civil society partners across the island.
Government Departments have been tasked to bring forward further new Shared Island project proposals this year that will implement our commitments to more strategic all-island investment and cooperation across virtually all sectors over the next five years.
To date, over €550m has been allocated by Government from the Shared Island Fund to take forward multi-annual projects and programmes. A full list of Shared Island Fund allocations to date is provided in tabular form.
At the Shared Island Forum, I also announced a new dimension to the Initiative to commence later this year - the ‘Shared Home Place’ programme. This will be open to people from every corner of the island to build new connections around our place-based heritage, and will engage with the contributions of Irish, Anglo-Irish and Ulster-Scots traditions, as well as Irish communities in Britain and beyond.
On 28 April, I launched an overarching report and a new phase of the Economic and Social Research Institute’s joint research programme with my Department as part of the Shared Island Initiative. The huge untapped further potential of all-island cooperation is a major takeaway from the ESRI’s overarching report. This reflects the Government’s commitments to expand and progress our Shared Island Initiative, so that we bring cooperation and relationships across the island of Ireland to a new level.
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