Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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450. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will report on the funding allocated from the shared island fund in support of tourism; and the purpose of any such allocations, by year, in tabular form. [29420/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Under the Shared Island Fund, two tourism initiatives have been allocated funding.

The first allocation of €7.6 million was announced in 2023 for an all-island tourism brand collaboration initiative in the North West. The Project Team for this initiative was established in 2023 consisting of representatives from the Department and the three tourism agencies, Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland and Tourism Northern Ireland.

The vision of the proposal is to connect the Causeway Coastal Route and the Wild Atlantic Way in such a way that the visitor is motivated to stay longer and spend more thereby bringing greater economic benefit to the region.

One of the key work programmes for the project within the Brand Collaboration Project is a €3 million small grants scheme, which is aimed at greatly enhancing the visitor offering in over 16 visitor experiences along the routes and details of the successful grant recipients will be announced in the coming months. Applications for the small grants scheme are closed.

In February 2025, a second initiative was announced of up to €23 million for a Shared Destinations project, spanning 2025-2030. This project will also see Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Northern Ireland and Tourism Ireland work in partnership with local authorities to develop sustainable tourism amenities across the border region, specifically at Carlingford Lough, Cuilcagh Lakelands UNESCO Global Geopark and Sliabh Beagh.