Minister James Browne welcomes almost €6 million in Shared Island Funding to support cross-border fire services
- Published on: 19 November 2025
- Last updated on: 25 November 2025
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage James Browne, has welcomed the announcement by Department of the Taoiseach of a €5.9 million allocation to support of cross-border fire service emergency management and capacity building as part of the Shared Island initiative.
This funding award is a key collaborative step forward for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management (NDFEM) and the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS), under the Department of Health, Northern Ireland.
The successful joint proposal, brought forward by the NDFEM and NIFRS with the support of their parent departments, aims to enhance cross-border emergency preparedness, response capabilities, resilience, and crisis management across the island of Ireland.
It will complement work already being conducted by the fire services on both sides of the border and contribute to the ongoing work by the Cross Border Emergency Management Group in developing resilience on the island.
Minister Browne said:
“This significant investment, supported through the Shared Island Fund, will facilitate the expansion of training facilities, investment in interoperable urban search and rescue training equipment, and the procurement of a flood containment module on both sides of the border. It will support enhanced emergency response capacity in both jurisdictions, including collaborative responses, and facilitate joint training by fire and emergency services at locations North and South.”
The focus of this funding is on two critical areas:
- the development of Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) and High Capacity Pumping (HCP) resources. Four fully equipped USAR training rigs will be installed in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Laois, with an expansion of class learning space and;
- USAR training equipped to be funded at the NIFRS Learning and Development Centre (LDC) in Cookstown, Tyrone
This will be matched with coordinated investment in expanded classroom space at the Dublin Fire Brigade Training Centre, and the procurement of a Flood Containment Module by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. This module, with a dedicated vehicle, will be used for the protection of critical infrastructure during flooding events. There is currently no FCM on the island of Ireland.
Minister Browne said:
“Investment in flood containment and response capabilities is essential to ensure preparedness for large-scale water-related emergencies. The proposed capital investment will establish a specialist module equipped with high-capacity pumps, containment barriers, and mobile deployment platforms, enabling swift and effective intervention during flood events. This infrastructure will support the protection of critical public infrastructure, transport hubs, energy networks, and other vital assets, while also reducing long-term recovery costs and disruption.”
The Northern Ireland Executive has invested €50 million to date in the NIFRS LDC that was opened in May 2025 as a world-class fire and emergency training facility. The LDC is available for use by our NDFEM and other emergency services on a collaborative North South basis, with joint training on USAR having commenced in May 2025.
Further funding to support joint training activities has also been successfully secured through a collaborative NDFEM–NIFRS application to the PEACEPLUS Programme under Theme 6.1 with over €2 million awarded to develop a cross-border fire and rescue interoperability framework. This will train personnel, accredit trainers, and strengthen mutual aid agreements to improve emergency response across the island.
Notes
Cross Border Emergency Management Group
Cross-border collaboration is already extensive including through the Cross-Border Emergency Management Group (CBEMG) which includes representatives from Ireland: NDFEM; An Garda Síochana; HSE (including National Ambulance Service); the Irish Coast Guard; Local Authority Fire Services; and the NW and NE MEM Regional Working Groups; and Northern Ireland: NIFRS; relevant Northern Ireland Emergency Preparedness Groups (EPGs); Local Government; the Police Service of Northern Ireland; the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service; the Public Health Agency & Health and Social Care Trusts; the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Other government departments, North and South, join periodically.
The strategic objectives of the Cross-Border Emergency Management Group are to:
- act as a multi-agency emergency planning group for the statutory agencies in Northern Ireland and Ireland;
- enhance cross border co-operation and resilience in Emergency Management and Civil Protection consistent with the Principles of the Emergency Management;
- develop joint protocols, training and the sharing of information in line with the parent emergency management framework documents;
- strengthen and coordinate cross-border emergency management arrangements in the areas of risk assessment, prevention, preparedness, mitigation and response;
- further the development of a support network between the respective agencies;
- ensure as far as possible the interoperability of major emergency plans and response arrangements both in Northern Ireland and Ireland