- 1. Overview
- 2. A5 North-West Transport Corridor
- 3. Casement Park
- 4. Belfast and Dublin Rail service
- 5. Narrow Water Bridge
- 6. Battle of the Boyne site
- 7. Shared Island enterprise scheme
- 8. Educational attainment
- 9. Carlingford Greenway
- 10. UNESCO World Heritage
- 11. Ulster University campus in Derry
- 12. All-Island Bioeconomy Demonstrators
- 13. Respite and therapeutic centre for children with cancer and their families
- 14. Community Climate Action Programme
- 15. Shared Island Sports Club EV Charging Scheme
- 16. Shared Island Civic Society Fund
- 17. Co-Centres for Research and innovation
- 18. Peatlands restoration
- 19. Tourism, Gaeltacht, Creative Ireland and Culture projects
- 20. Shared Island Local Authority Development Funding Scheme
- 21. North-South Research Programme
- 22. Ulster Canal
- 23. All-island Strategic Rail Review
The Programme for Government and revised National Development Plan (2021-2030) set out a significantly-enhanced level of ambition for collaborative all-island investment.
The goal is a more connected, sustainable and prosperous island for all communities. This is backed by a total all-island investment commitment of more than €3.5billion out to 2030, through the Government’s Shared Island Fund; Project Ireland 2040 funds; resourcing for North/South cooperation; and the PEACEPLUS programme, delivered with the European Union, UK Government and Northern Ireland Executive.
The Shared Island Fund - with a commitment of at least €1billion out to 2030 - is ringfenced funding to enable delivery of all-island investment commitments and objectives. The Government is deploying the Shared Island Fund, working through all-island partnerships, with the Executive, UK Government, Local Authorities, education institutions and through island-wide funding programmes.
Most recently, on 20 February 2024, the Government announced funding of up to €800 million from the Shared Island Investment priorities on a number of significant cross-border investments. To date, almost €500 million has been specifically allocated from the Shared Island Fund.
The Government will continue to invest at this unprecedented level in the time ahead, demonstrating and harnessing the value of ambitious North/South and East/West cooperation, for the island of Ireland.
Image: 800 M 2
Image: A5
In February 2024, the Government confirmed a commitment of €600 million towards the A5 North-West transport corridor.
The Department of Infrastructure in Northern Ireland has recently confirmed that A5 scheme has received a final public inquiry report from the Planning Appeals Commission. Subject to the successful completion of the statutory processes and securing of funding, a decision to proceed could be taken for construction to commence before the end of 2024.
Given the significance of the A5 scheme – and of the related Donegal TEN-T and N2 Clontibret upgrades – for the North-West region and for cross-border connectivity on the island; and the scope for the project to proceed in Northern Ireland, the Government has agreed an commitment to the A5 road upgrade project of up to €600m towards its costs along with progressing of planning and design work on the related N2 Clontibret and Donegal TEN-T schemes.
Confirmation of the Government’s funding commitment is intended to support the project in proceeding as soon as possible, alongside confirmation of funding from other sources by the Department of Infrastructure Northern Ireland.
Image: Casement Park
The Government approved a contribution of up to €50 million towards the construction of a redeveloped of Casement Park in Belfast as part of the joint hosting by Ireland and the UK of the UEFA EURO 2028 tournament.
The Government has committed funding through the Shared Island Fund to contribute to construction of a redeveloped Casement Park in Belfast as a landmark sports infrastructure project and to host games as part of the EURO 2028 tournament.
Ireland will jointly host the UEFA EURO 2028 Championship with the UK and this presents a wonderful opportunity to showcase the UK and Ireland and our world-class tourism and sports offering to Europe and the wider world. The inclusion of Casement Park as part of the joint Ireland-UK winning bid to host the UEFA EURO2028 championship has the support of the five football associations and all partners, including both Governments.
The redevelopment project is owned and managed by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) Ulster Council in cooperation with the Northern Ireland authorities, who are working to bring together an overall funding package to deliver the redeveloped stadium.
The Government’s funding contribution will be agreed by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media with the GAA and progressed in cooperation with NI and UK counterparts.
Consistent with the Government’s policy on funding for large scale sports infrastructure, principles for funding of the project will be agreed such that it is accessible to and will benefit a range of sports, is operated to facilitate equality, diversity and inclusion in sport, including supporting cross-community relationships in Northern Ireland and across the island.
Image: Dublin Belfast rail
The Government has confirmed the introduction of an hourly-frequency rail service between Belfast and Dublin at a cost of an additional €12.5 million.
Introduction of an hourly-frequency rail service on the Dublin-Belfast line is an agreed priority for both Administrations. An hourly service will double current frequency and significantly enhance sustainable transport connectivity between the two largest cities on the island and be a catalyst for economic and social connections throughout the Dublin Belfast economic corridor region and across the island.
This funding is being allocated from the Shared Island Fund, with match funding from the Department of Transport, to meet the total cost of introducing of an hourly-frequency rail service between Belfast and Dublin over an initial three-year period.
The additional resourcing will allow for increased capacity for Iarnród Éireann and Translink NI with their respective fleet networks. The increased service will be introduced progressively with an hourly-frequency service expected to be fully in place by Q1 2025.
The increased service frequency is aligned with the objective under the revised National Development Plan, with the provision under the PEACEPLUS programme for investment in new sustainable rolling stock on the Dublin-Belfast line, and with recommendations of the draft All-Island Strategic Rail Review.
In February 2024 the government allocated further funding towards the Narrow Water Bridge, the bridge is a longstanding commitment of the Government reflected in the Programme for Government and the 2020 New Decade New Approach Agreement. The bridge will link the Mourne Mountains and Cooley peninsula, providing huge tourism and connectivity boosts in the east border region, and acting as an enabler for improved cross-border active travel and recreation activities including the development of greenways, walking trails and park amenities.
Planning permission is in place for a distinctive 280m cable-stayed bridge, anchored by two towers at either end, with segregated car, cycle and pedestrian lanes. The bridge will connect the A2 Newry to Warrenpoint dual carriageway with the R173 Omeath and open to allow for passage of boats through and on to the Newry Canal.
A tender process for the main construction works contract for the project was conducted by Louth County Council in 2023, in accordance with the Public Spending Code, overseen by the
Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in consultation with the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland.
Louth County Council will proceed with the final steps in the procurement process and expect to award the contract to the successful bidder in H1 2024. Delivery of the project will be overseen by a Project Board, chaired by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
In June 2022, the Government previously allocated €3m from the Shared Island Fund to bring the project to tender stage. In November 2022, the Government decided to proceed with a tender process, which was commenced by Louth County Council in April and is to conclude in October. A further €2m was allocated from the Shared Island Fund in June 2023 for the cost of completing the tender stage.
The project is overseen by the Department for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, working with Louth County Council and in consultation with the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland.
In February 2024 the Government committed €10 million towards a major investment in a renewed visitor experience of the Battle of the Boyne site.
The Government confirmed a major investment in the development of a renewed visitor experience for the Battle of the Boyne site as a priority to raise the heritage and tourism profile of the site which has unique historic and community significance on the island. This funding commitment from the Shared Island Fund was made as part of the overall funding package for the project, once finalised. This work will be taken forward by the Office of Public Works (OPW) based on a Conservation Management Plan for the site and in consultation with communities North and South.
Oldbridge Estate was purchased by the State in 2000, due to its national significance as the site of the historic Battle of the Boyne. Following extensive renovation and development, the Battle of the Boyne Visitor Centre, located in Oldbridge House, opened to the public in summer 2008.
In 2022, an updated Conservation Management Plan was commissioned by OPW, and is now completed. This plan aims to present and sensitively interpret the Battle of the Boyne site. The future development of the site will be guided by the Plan, including:
Ensuring overall conservation and protection of the site;
○ Consideration of potential for deepening North-South community interaction and advancing reconciliation.
○ Contributing to the tourism and economic agenda for Meath and south Louth.
In 2022, the Estate welcomed close to 500,000 visitors, and the Visitor Centre in the house welcomed some 40,000 visitors to the exhibition. The OPW will lead work to expand the offering for visitors to the Estate even further in the coming years.
The Government allocated €30 Million from the Shared Island Fund for a new Shared Island enterprise scheme.
InterTradeIreland, Enterprise Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland, in consultation with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland, will develop a scheme for cooperation by the agencies on a collaborative cross-border basis and consistent with each agency’s remit.
The Government made an allocation in principle of up to €30m for development of a scheme to focus on: promoting female entrepreneurship; cross-border networks and clusters; and sustainability and innovation investment.
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in consultation with the Department for the Economy (NI) will oversee the further development of the scheme which, subject to Ministerial agreement in both Administrations, will commence in late 2024.
In February 2024 the Government allocated up to €24 million towards a pilot cooperation programme to address educational underachievement.
The Department of Education and Department of Education in Northern Ireland will work to develop and introduce a pilot cooperation programme on educational underachievement.
This pilot cooperation programme will run from 2024 and 2025 to comprise elements on teachers’ research exchange, creativity in schools, and supports to address educational underachievement.
The cooperation programme will be further developed by the Departments of Education in Ireland and Northern Ireland and commence, subject to Ministerial agreement in both Administrations. If agreed, the programme will be continued in 2026 and 2027 with additional resourcing through the Shared Island Fund.
The Government has allocated €1.5 million towards the completion of the Carlingford Greenway.
The allocated funding will enable the completion of an outstanding element of the cross-border Carlingford Greenway, a 1.6km boardwalk structure outside Newry. Funding is also being provided by the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland and other sections of the Greenway are supported under the INTERREG VA programme.
The project is overseen by the Department of Transport, working with Louth County Council and Newry, Mourne and Down District Council in consultation with the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland.
This project aligns with the objective under the National Development Plan to create an island-wide border region greenway network from the Atlantic coast to the Eastern seaboard, and the Department of Transport are actively exploring potential approaches to link existing border-region greenway routes to develop a transformational green infrastructure asset for residents and to grow sustainable tourism.
In February 2024, the Government allocated funding towards key UNESCO world heritage sites under the Shared Island Fund.
The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (National Monuments Service) is working with the Astronomical Observatories of Ireland (AOI) - a partnership of Dunsink Observatory, the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, and Birr Scientific and Heritage Foundation - to support a UNESCO World Heritage status bid as a transboundary property and feasibility work on how to harness the unique, connected scientific and built heritage value of the three sites in the years ahead.
The National Monuments Service is also continuing to support the trans-boundary World Heritage Property bid of The Royal Sites of Ireland (including Eamhain Macha/Navan Fort in Armagh) which was included on Ireland’s World Heritage Tentative List in 2021.
On 10 June 2023, the Government committed up to €44.5m from the Shared Island Fund to construction of a new teaching and student services building at Ulster University’s campus in Derry. This implements the Government’s commitment under the New Decade, New Approach agreement to capital investment in the campus to expand higher education provision in the North West region.
The teaching building is part of Ulster University’s development plan to provide a campus that will increase student numbers in Derry. It teaching will provide additional lecture and seminar spaces, computer labs and on-campus student services. The project has a strong cross-border dimension, directly supporting the significant and expanding joint undergraduate and postgraduate course provision and research collaboration by Atlantic Technological University (Donegal) and Ulster University.
The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and his Department will progress the Government’s funding contribution working with Ulster University and in continuing consultation with the Department for Economy in Northern Ireland.
On 6 March 2024, the Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D and the Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Andrew Muir MLA., announced the opening of this new funding initiative to support the development of the all-island bioeconomy.
The ‘Shared Island Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiative’ will pilot and demonstrate the bioeconomy in action across the island of Ireland, as a key objective of the Bioeconomy Action Plan 2023-2025.
The new funding call is enabled by an allocation of €7 million from the Irish Government’s Shared Island Initiative, with co-funding of €1.5 million from the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, and £0.5 million from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland.
A call for applications is open until 7 June 2024. Full terms and conditions including the Call Specifications and Call Guidelines are available here.
The Government has allocated €2.5m from the Shared Island Fund to the cost for construction of a purpose-built respite and therapeutic centre for children diagnosed with cancer and their families, from across the island of Ireland.
The Minister for Health and his Department are bringing together an overall funding package, which will be announced with further information on the project. The project is aligned with the National Cancer Strategy 2017-2026 and will complement and add to existing North/South cooperation on cancer care.
In February 2023, Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD announced funding of €27 Million to the Community Climate Action Programme , which supports projects and initiatives that facilitate community climate action through education, capacity building and learning by doing.
The Shared Island strand (strand 1a) of the Community Climate Action Programme opened in December 2023 with €3m in funding available to support cross-border and all-island climate action initiatives by communities and local authorities to help reach common climate and energy targets, North and South.
Strand 1a projects will be community-led climate action initiatives with a partner in Northern Ireland, and a minimum of 50% of awarded funding will be for project delivery in Northern Ireland.
For more information, and to apply for the funding, community groups should contact the Community Climate Action Officer in the relevant local authority in Ireland.
In January 2023, Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan TD and Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD announced an investment of €15 Million to the Shared Island Sports Club EV Charging Scheme.
This scheme will support the roll-out of publicly accessible, fast-charging for sports clubs and communities across the island of Ireland, in line with the recently launched National EV Charging Infrastructure Strategy.
For more information on how to apply for this scheme, click here.
In September 2023, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin TD announced up to half a million towards 20 projects in the initial round of funding for cross-border schemes. These scheme’s promotes practical North South cooperation and engagement, across a range of sectors and themes, consistent with the objectives and commitments of the Good Friday Agreement.
A second round of funding was announced in September 2023 with the allocation of up to €1M for cross-border projects. For more information on how to apply to the second call of this scheme, click here.
In December 2022, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris, UK Minister for Science and Investment Security, Nusrat Ghani MP and Northern Irish Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Edwin Poots MLA announced over €74 million in investment to create new collaborative research co-centres across Ireland, Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The call under the ‘Co Centres: Collaboration for Transformative Research and Innovation’ Programme will open in November and will focus on 2 thematic areas:
- climate
- sustainable and resilient food systems
For more information on how to apply for this scheme, click here.
In December 2022, Minister for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD announced an investment of €15 Million, for a new cross-border collaboration in peatlands restoration and funding will be used to build capacity at local and national levels through upskilling, training and education programmes and restoration work.
Sites in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland will be selected to deliver practical peatland restoration, build capacity for long-term peatland management, undertake research and monitoring, exchange knowledge, and address socio-cultural issues across a range of restoration scenarios. These include the restoration of private and public lands, demonstration of restoration of erosion impacts, reactivation of drained peatlands, forest to bog restoration, control of alien invasives, addressing grazing pressures, improving community engagement and increasing education and awareness.
For more information on this investment can be found here.
In December 2022, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD and Minister of State for Gaeltacht and Sport, Jack Chambers TD announced an investment of €15 Million, for 3 projects under Tourism, Gaeltacht and Creative Ireland. A further €7.4 Million was announced in July 2022 to support the delivery of Shared Island Arts investment projects.
Tourism: €7.6 million awarded for a new all-island tourism brand collaboration and marketing initiative to be administered by the Tourism agencies on a cross-border basis. The vision of the proposal is to connect the Causeway Coastal Route and the Wild Atlantic Way in the North West.
Gaeltacht: €2 million for new cross-border Irish language and Ulster-Scots language, culture and heritage projects, including funding for the development of community-run facilities and cross-community cultural events.
Creative Ireland: €6 million for a Shared Island dimension to the government’s Creative Ireland Programme 2023-2027.
The initiative will seek to deploy creativity on a shared island basis to:
- increase opportunities for cross-community cultural and creative initiatives between children and young people;
- support local authorities to enhance networks of creativity in support of vibrant and inclusive people-to-people and community-to-community partnerships;
- position Ireland as a global leader in demonstrating the value of creativity and mental wellbeing deepen collaborations for a more environmentally and socially sustainable island;
- deepen collaborations for a more environmentally and socially sustainable island.
Schemes include:
- Cruinniú na nÓg (All-Island Day of Creativity for Children and Young People) included events programmed on an all-island basis in June 2023. Creative Ireland will continue to facilitate this through cross-community events connecting children and young people from both sides of the border. This vibrant programme of live and online events that will give everyone the opportunity to let their creativity shine.For more information on this programme, click here.
- The Creative Youth Plan will support the development of transformative flagship initiatives for children and young people throughout the Island. This will start with the Story Seeds initiative led by Fighting Words, which will engage children and young people in collaborative, cross-border creative writing activities.
- The Creative Communities on a Shared Island funding scheme for local authority Culture & Creativity Teams to support collaborations utilising cross-border networks in support of cultural and creative people-to-people and community-to-community opportunities. The recipients of the first round of the scheme were announced in October 2023 in which nine new Local Authority-led community arts and creativity projects will receive €850,000 in total, further details here.
- Traveller Wellbeing through Creativity is a programme to support creative projects that will have a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of the Traveller community. Alongside an existing grant initiative, additional funds have been made available for shared island initiatives. Applications for funding in the 2023 programme has now closed. Evaluation of the projects is ongoing.
- The Creative Climate Action Fund II: Agents of Change (2023-2025) will support imaginative creative projects that build awareness around climate change and empower citizens to make meaningful behavioural changes. Additional funding has been made available for a number of projects that support shared island initiatives. 3 all-island projects will be funded under the Shared Island initiative (Antrim, Down and Fermanagh), with further details available here.
- Creative Connections for Mental Health aims to position Ireland as a global leader in deploying expert-led approaches in arts and creativity to support mental health and wellbeing including in post-conflict scenarios.
- Creating an Island of Equals funding will be allocated through an open call to sectoral organisations to propose cross-border collaboration programmes based on creativity in relation to disability; gender; race, ethnicity and cultural diversity; and LGBTI.
Further information on these programmes is available here.
Creative Ireland -Shared Island Initiative 2023 - 2025
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Culture : In September 2023 Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD, Tániaste & Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin TD and Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD announced five new All Island Arts Investment projects. €7.4 Million from the government’s Shared Island Fund was approved to support the delivery of these Arts capital investment projects on the island and will be delivered by the Arts Council and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
The five Shared Island funded projects are:
- Irish Architectural Archive (IAA) - €100k to provide enhanced digitisation and accessibility for the all-island architectural records.
- Irish Film Institute (IFI) - €200k to create and curate an archive of amateur filmmaking in Northern Ireland and the border region. The IFI will work with partners to exhibit films from this archive to audiences online and regionally.
- Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA) - €1 million to develop a new studio space and digitisation. The ITMA will develop a new residential studio space and enhance digitisation capacity to promote all-island Artist and Archivist collaborations.
- Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig - up to €1.5 million to create a new visual artist studio. A studio for artists of all forms, alternating between Ireland and Northern Ireland, at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig.
- Bellaghy Bawn writer residencies - up to €4.6 million for development of residencies at the historic Bawn building in Bellaghy creating a cross-border residential facility for writers to work and interact, in an inspirational historic building in the village of Bellaghy, close to the birthplace and childhood home of Seamus Heaney.
Further information on these projects is available here.
In September 2022, Taoiseach, Micheál Martin TD and Minister for Housing Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O'Brien TD awarded 25 successful projects funding under the Shared Island Local Authority Development Funding Scheme.
More than €4.3 million has been allocated to 15 lead Local Authorities in the South, working in partnership with 9 Councils in Northern Ireland to develop collaborative cross-border investment projects over the next 12 months.
The successful projects are spread across a range of sectors including biodiversity, tourism, decarbonisation, the circular economy, rural and urban regeneration, education, business innovation; and cultural and creative industries.
The scheme, which is funded by the Shared Island Fund and managed by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, enables Local Authorities North and South to progress feasibility and development work on new joint investment projects which deliver local and regional development goals.
In March 2022, Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD and Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD awarded sixty-two collaborative research projects between academics and institutions in Ireland and Northern Ireland, totaling over €37 million under the first funding call from the North-South Research Programme.
The North-South Research Programme is a collaborative scheme funded through the Government’s Shared Island Fund and administered by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on behalf of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.
The awards range in value from €200,000 over two years to €4 million over four years.
The successful collaborations were awarded under three strands:
• Strand I: Bilateral researcher-researcher projects,
• Strand II: Emerging hubs of excellence and
• Strand III: Partnerships of scale.
This funding is being awarded through two programme calls, the second call will be announced in 2023.
For more information click here.
In April 2021, the government announced over €12 million in funding for Phase 2 of the Ulster Canal, supported by €6m from the Shared Island Fund. The historic announcement will see the restoration of the Ulster Canal between Clones and Clonfad.
Funding from the Rural Regeneration Development Fund and from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage was also secured to progress the project. A further €1m from the Shared Island Fund has been approved to undertake the feasibility and pre-construction stages for Phase 3 of the restoration project.
In July 2022, Government approved a €40m contribution from the Shared Island Fund for delivery of Phase 3 of the Ulster Canal restoration.
The all-island Strategic Rail Review was launched jointly by Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan TD. and Northern Ireland Minister for Infrastructure Nichola Mallon MLA in April 2021.
As well as examining the potential for High Speed Rail, this Strategic Rail Review will consider all issues in relation to inter-urban and inter-regional rail connectivity, including the potential for rail freight and improved connectivity to the North-West of the island.
The Shared Island Fund is allocated to government departments for approved collaborative North/South projects that implement Programme for Government commitments and objectives on shared island.
The government will continue to work with the Executive in Northern Ireland, the British Government and other partners to co-deliver cross-border investments that enhance our shared island.