Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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58. To ask the Taoiseach if consideration has been given to developing public information or civic education materials outlining the institutional, economic and constitutional realities associated with Irish unification, to ensure any future debate is evidence-based. [62803/25]

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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The approach of the Government in relation to Irish unity is guided by Article 3 of the Constitution, as amended by the people in 1998.

The Government respects and affirms everyone’s right on this island to make the case for the constitutional future for Northern Ireland they wish to see - whether they are nationalist, unionist or do not identify with either tradition.

In the event of a future referendum within the consent provisions of the Good Friday Agreement, the Government would make all necessary preparations in accordance with the terms of the Constitution and the procedures of the Agreement.

The Programme for Government affirms the Government’s commitment to the unity of the Irish people, and to a sustained focus on and investment in reconciliation, developing the three sets of relationships recognised in the Good Friday Agreement to unlock the full potential of our island.

Through programmes such as the Shared Island Initiative, the Government is moving forward with the vital task of building a lasting reconciliation between all communities on this island. This is backed by the Government’s Shared Island Fund, now a €2 billion commitment out to 2035.

With over €600m now allocated from the Shared Island Fund the Government is taking sustained, strategic action and investment to improve people’s lives and strengthen connections across the island of Ireland for our shared future.

In April, I announced the ‘Shared Home Place’ programme as a new dimension of the Initiative to commence in 2026, which will be open to people from every corner of the island to build new connections through our place-based heritage.

This new programme will engage with the contributions of all traditions across the island of Ireland, including Irish, British, Anglo-Irish and Ulster Scots traditions - recognising how these are an integral part of the heritage of every county today and crucial to how we approach and build our future.

The programme will also recognise and include the greater ethnic and cultural diversity of the island now, which is a source of richness and strength in society, and engage with diaspora communities in Britain, the United States, and further afield.

Shared Home Place will build on the sustained programme of all-island dialogue and engagement that the Government of Ireland has supported, including through the Shared Island Dialogue series which involved more than 4,000 representatives, and the Shared Island Youth Forum of 80 representatives who deliberated over a year and in 2024 produced an impressive statement of their vision and values for a shared future on this island.

The Shared Island research programme is providing high-quality evidence and analysis of the whole island, on economic, social, cultural and political issues.

In April, I launched a new phase of my Department’s joint Shared Island research programme with the Economic and Social Research Institute, with a focus on strategic policy and cooperation considerations for the island, and research projects for 2025-26 are underway. This includes a new annual report series by the ESRI assessing economic trends across the island of Ireland, the first of which will be published next week.