Press release
25 Cross-Border Projects awarded funding under Shared Island Local Authority Development Funding Scheme
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has today (29 September 2022) announced the 25 successful projects awarded 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.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said:
“I am delighted to announce the 25 successful projects which have been awarded funding under the Shared Island Local Authority Funding Scheme. I am not only struck by the diverse range of projects which have come through the process, I am particularly pleased to see such a significant geographic spread across the island.
“Local Authorities in the border region have long-standing partnerships with their Northern counterparts, which I hope will be further enhanced through schemes such as this, and it’s important that there are also newer partnerships such as the projects involving Waterford and Mid and East Antrim Borough Council and Kerry, Cork, Donegal and Ards and North Down Borough Council that can contribute to the Shared Island vision of communities North and South working together on shared opportunities.”
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, added:
“This is an exciting time for the Local Authorities which have been awarded funding under the Shared Island Local Authority Funding Scheme.
“It’s the first step in a process, which will see them develop concrete plans on strategic North-South investment projects that can make a real difference, not only in their local communities, but regionally and island-wide as well. Through the government’s Shared Island Fund, and the work of the partner Local Authorities, our goal of investing for a more connected, sustainable and prosperous island is moving ahead.”
Minister of State for Local Government and Planning, Peter Burke, commented:
“I am very pleased to see Local Authorities playing such a key role in the Shared Island initiative. Local Authorities have vital knowledge and experience in delivering for their communities, towns and villages. Through this scheme, they have identified opportunities to meet regional development goals and challenges - like climate change, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable tourism - and will now work on a pipeline of new, ambitious and collaborative projects with their Local Authority partners in Northern Ireland.
“This development funding is a central catalyst in taking existing partnerships to the next level and instigating new ones, encouraging Local Authorities, not just in the border region, but right across this island to work together for a shared future."
A full list of the successful projects is detailed in the Annex below.
| Lead | Partners | Project title | Description | Funding award |
| Carlow County Council | Fermanagh and Omagh District Council; Newry Mourne and Down District Council; Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council; Wexford, Laois, Kildare and Meath Councils | All-Ireland Columban Way Feasibility Study | Feasibility study to scope the development and economic return of a fully connected Columban Way walking route, traversing North and South. Concept route is based on a pilgrim route connected to the life of St. Columbanus. | €250,000 |
| Cavan County Council | Fermanagh and Omagh District Council | Our Shared Heritage, Where We Belong (Castle Saunderson / Castle Caldwell) | Advance a series of interlinked capital works at two iconic sites in the border region, Castle Saunderson, Co. Cavan and Castle Caldwell, Co. Fermanagh. Development of these sites for local people and visitors to experience nature and cultural activities. | €250,000 |
| Cavan County Council | Fermanagh and Omagh District Council; National Parks and Wildlife Service; Ulster Wildlife; Geopark Ambassadors and Geopark Business Network | Cross border masterplan for Cuilcagh | To build on the views and traditions of all communities around Cuilcagh Mountain and shape a plan based on regenerative tourism, sustainable recreation, climate smart conservation, interpretation, and community partnership. Developing and implementing solutions for climate action and conservation and sustainable tourism on the uplands of this UNESCO designated Geopark. | €150,000 |
| Cork City Council | Belfast City Council | Cork-Belfast Harbour Cities | Feasibility work to develop collaboration and coordinated investment propositions by Belfast and Cork City Councils for Docklands regeneration and on Climate Action. Including a catalyst development scope and viability study for the docklands, and joint examination of climate action best practice by Councils including for adapting commercial and office buildings and roll out of EV public fleets. | €90,000 |
| Cork City Council | Derry and Strabane District Council; Belfast Learning City, Learning Limerick, Dublin Learning City | Our Learning Island | Exploring feasibility of projects built on the UNESCO Learning City exchange programmes, involving partners in Cork, Derry and Strabane, Belfast, Dublin and Limerick. Identification of two feasible capital projects for a Learning Island based on consultation and specifically examining: inclusive music education; youth centres for traditional currach building and rowing; and, community growing projects. | €128,607 |
| Donegal County Council | Fermanagh & Omagh District Council | Innovation Plazas | Feasibility for development of twin cross-border Innovation Plazas in Ballyshannon, Donegal and Irvinestown, Fermanagh to foster enterprise opportunities in renewable energy, advanced manufacturing & engineering and agri-food, with cross-border networks and knowledge- sharing to support in growth in these sectors. | €176,000 |
| Donegal County Council | Derry City & Strabane District Council | North-West Decarb - Exemplar Decarbonised Public Buildings & Transportation Project | Feasibility for cross-border Exemplar Decarbonised Public Buildings & Transportation project to inspire the carbon-neutral journey in Donegal and Derry. | €250,000 |
| Donegal County Council | Derry City & Strabane District Council | North West Regulatory Technology Cluster | Development work for a cross-border, all-island national institute bringing together companies, academics, and public bodies to drive world-class research and innovation within Regulatory Technology. | €150,000 |
| Donegal County Council | Derry City & Strabane District Council | Slí Cholmcille pilgrimage route | Feasibility assessment for a pilgrimage route linking key Colmcille-related sites across the cross-border landscape. Support cross-border tourism, recreation and connecting communities through the shared heritage of Colmcille - a unifying figure and symbol of cooperation on the island. | €250,000 |
| Donegal County Council | Fermanagh & Omagh District Council | Regenerative Tourism Cross-border Project | Feasibility to develop an ambitious regenerative tourism project along the Donegal-Fermanagh rural border region involving engagement with the region’s place, past and people, seeking to attract high-yield environmentally-conscious visitors establishing a cluster of outdoor activity businesses, with economic gains for accommodation providers, food outlets and venues in towns and villages. | €150,000 |
| Dublin City Council | Belfast City Council | Circular Economy Partnership | Feasibility of a circular economy partnership between Dublin and Belfast to jointly develop infrastructure, facilities, and institutional frameworks to support transition to a green economy and meet climate ambitions. To identify opportunities to make the island a leader in establishing a vibrant, equitable, and innovative Connected Circular Economy. | €250,000 |
| Fingal County Council | Dublin Belfast Economic Corridor – Belfast City Council; Armagh, Banbridge & Craigavon; Lisburn & Castlereagh; Newry, Mourne & Down | Corridor Enterprise Hubs | Feasibility of development of sectoral enterprise hubs in the DBEC region; identifying scope for new or repurposed facilities based around sectoral clusters, and identifying sectoral strengths and existing and emerging business clusters throughout the cross-border region including FinTech, Digital Health, Agri-Tech and Advanced Manufacturing. | €150,000 |
| Galway City Council | Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council | Culture Connects | Testing the feasibility of creating new knowledge capital through a diverse artist-led, cross-border support programme for emerging cultural practitioners; specific assessment of development need, operations and development costs for Artist Residency and Workplace sites on a cross-border basis. | €149,900 |
| Galway City Council | Derry & Strabane Council; Ulster University; Galway Culture company; Creative Enterprise West; Atlantic Technological University; Western Development Commission | ARCC - Atlantic Region of Creative Content | Bringing together the expertise and strengths of the partner organisations to support the development of an all-Island Creative Industries Cluster facilitated through virtual production spaces and clustering for the creative industries North and South. | €147,000 |
| Galway County Council | Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council; Leitrim County Council; BIA Innovator Campus, Galway | AgriFood Infrastructure Enabling Growth | Collaboration to develop Excellence Centres in Food Innovation and Agritech across three themes; establishment of the first cross-border Food + Agritech Innovation Network; feasibility of new investment projects by cross-border Local Authority partnerships. | €250,000 |
| Kerry County Council | Ards and North Down Borough Council, Donegal, Cork County Councils | Four Points feasibility study | Feasibility work on linking, enhancing and cross-promoting the four extreme geographic points on the island - Malin Head, Donegal; Brow Head, Cork; Burr Point, Down; and, An Dún Mór, Kerry - to create joined-up sustainable tourism experiences to attract additional visitor footfall, stays and spend to benefit local communities. | €100,000 |
| Leitrim County Council | Mid Ulster District Council; Department for Communities (NI); Irish Central Border Area Network (ICBAN) | Ringforts Feasibility Study – Killahurk, Co Leitrim/ Tullaghoge, Co Tyrone | Feasibility into two associated Ringfort developments on each side of the border: to transform a derelict Ringwork at Killahurk, near Carrigallen, Co. Leitrim, and development of a new pathway linking Tullaghoge Fort to Tullyhogue village, near Cookstown, Co Tyrone, and investigation of new approaches to interpretation of a recently-discovered settlement there. | €110,000 |
| Louth County Council | Newry, Mourne & Down; East Border Region; Fáilte Ireland; Tourism Northern Ireland; Loughs Agency | Feasibility project to develop Carlingford Lough as a tourism destination of excellence | Cross-border study to audit existing activity tourism and identify new tourism offerings in the Carlingford Lough area providing the basis for a capital investment proposal to establish to area as a premier outdoor recreation destination on the island. | €150,000 |
| Meath County Council | Ards and North Down Borough Council; Newry Mourne and Down District Council; Louth County Council | Exploring Sustainable Nature Based Solutions to Coastal Erosion in the East Border Region’ | Local Authorities will work on a cross-border basis to identify the causes of and investigate nature-based adaptation options to address Coastal Erosion. Project to identify a number of demonstration sites for testing these innovative solutions, forming the basis for a new investment project. | €147,000 |
| Monaghan County Council | Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council; Fermanagh and Omagh District Council; Mid Ulster District Council; Cavan County Council | Development of Sectoral SME innovation clusters and cross-border collaborative networks across five Local Authority areas | Five Local Authorities collaborating to develop SME innovation clusters in Agri-food, Agri-Tech, and Advanced Manufacturing to support North/South collaborative networks through strategic investment in well-planned industrial land and enterprise space. | €250,000 |
| Monaghan County Council | Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council; Newry Mourne and Down District Council; East Border Region Ltd; Ulster Wildlife; Louth and Meath County Councils | Feasibility Of Restoring A Necklace of “Peace LANDS – Peatlands” along the East Border Region | Developing a plan for how to restore peatlands in the region; delivering quantifiable emission reduction targets and areas of degraded peatlands in improving ecological condition. Result of prioritised sites for peatland/wetland restoration forming an investment proposal to deliver benefits for biodiversity, climate and people. | €148,000 |
| Monaghan County Council Fermanagh & Omagh District Council; Mid Ulster District Council | Sliabh Beagh | Development study for Sliabh Beagh - a rural, mountainous area which straddles north Monaghan, Fermanagh and South Tyrone. | Work will identify a range of products to create a package of interventions to support the development of sustainable tourism and outdoor recreation on Sliabh Beagh. | €145,475 |
| Monaghan County Council | Louth County Council; Newry Mourne and Down District Council; Ards and North Down Borough Council; Armagh Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council; East Border Region | Feasibility study for LA’s to develop zero carbon HGV roadmaps | Project to assist Local Authorities on a cross-border basis to develop zero- carbon HGV roadmaps. Identifying opportunities and conditions for clean energy transition with green hydrogen and other renewable options. Project will map three phases for sustainable energy use in local authority HGV fleets: Planning - identify renewable refuelling routes; Development - trial / testing of HGVs; Deployment - HGV route expansion. | €150,000 |
| Sligo County Council | Fermanagh & Omagh District Council; Leitrim County Council | Economic Assessment of Potential for Business Development along the Sligo Leitrim and Northern Counties (SLNCR) Greenway | Conducting an Economic Visioning Study to identify opportunities for business and job creation arising from the future Sligo Leitrim Northern Counties Railway (SLNCR) Greenway Project. Also identifying infrastructure and other supports to ensure economic benefits for the region. | €150,000 |
| Waterford City and County Council | Mid and East Antrim Borough Council | Feasibility of re-purposing specific derelict, vacant or under-utilised sites/locations/facilities in four communities | To assess the feasibility of re-purposing specific derelict, vacant or under-utilised sites in four communities, two in Waterford and two in Mid and East Antrim, to act as models of best practice in respect of town/village regeneration. Assessments of the regeneration of these sites for tourism, recreational, enterprise and cultural purposes. | €230,000 |