Shared Island newsletter

Shared Island Initiative Newsletter

This newsletter provides subscribers with updates on the Government's Shared Island initiative to enhance cross-border cooperation and connections on the island and engage with all communities and traditions to build consensus around a shared future, underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement.

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This edition brings together the latest updates on the Government's Shared Island Initiative to enhance cross-border cooperation and connections on the island and engage with all communities and traditions to build consensus around a shared future.

Highlights from the last quarter include:

• Over €50m funding commitment for 10 new Shared Island Programmes
• New ESRI Report on Economic Trends in Ireland and Northern Ireland
• Sectoral Investment Plan on Shared Island as part of National Development Plan review
• New Programmes for Women Entrepreneurs launched under Shared Island Enterprise Scheme
• Creative Island Shared Island Conference and €4.6m Grant Calls announced
• New Carlingford Lough Greenway officially opens
• Island of Ireland host first cross-border TCI Global Conference
• In case you missed it: Future Takes Video Series

The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste on 18 November announced funding by the Government for ten new projects under the Shared Island Initiative, aimed at strengthening connection, co-operation, and communities across the island.

These include:

• €5.9m for flood response and rescue training for emergency services, North and South, working together for faster flood responses and rescue operations to save lives.
• €1.8m for the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, to conserve biodiversity with farmers, schools and businesses.
• €14m for new cross-border journalism and audio-visual programming with Coimisiún na Meán.
• €6m for Shared Home Place Programme for people across the island and beyond to explore what a shared home place means, past, present and future.

These initiatives build on major projects already underway, such as the enhanced Dublin–Belfast Rail Service, Narrow Water Bridge, new teaching building at Ulster University in Derry, and programmes on enterprise, tourism, and biodiversity.

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On 8 December, the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Simon Harris, launched a new report by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) – Assessing Economic Trends in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The report examines areas including economic growth, employment trends, economic forecasts, demographics, labour market engagement, living standards and policy. This report is the first in an annual series comparing economic trends across Ireland and Northern Ireland as part of the joint research programme between the Department of the Taoiseach’s Shared Island Unit and the ESRI.

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On 18 November, the Government published a Sectoral Investment Plan on Shared Island priorities as part of the National Development Plan (NDP) Review. This sets out how the Shared Island Fund will be deployed, alongside other resourcing and working through all-island co-funding partnerships, to deliver objectives for Building a Shared Island.

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On 21 November the Shared Island Enterprise Scheme opened an invitation to women entrepreneurs across the island of Ireland to apply for three new programmes designed to help them grow, innovate, and scale their businesses.

Led by InterTradeIreland, in partnership with Invest Northern Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, these programmes will begin in early 2026 and provide expert mentoring, tailored support, workshops, and networking opportunities for women at every stage—from start-ups to scaling established businesses.

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On 13 November, Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O'Donovan, joined over 300 guests at Croke Park for the first Creative Ireland Shared Island: Creativity Connecting People conference.The event highlighted the achievements of more than 45 projects spanning 23 counties, with every province represented. Creative Ireland, established eight years ago, has led Shared Island creativity projects since 2023, investing €6 million to support cultural and creative initiatives across the island.

Minister O’Donovan also announced three new Creative Ireland funding opportunities worth €4.6 million to support creativity, connection, and wellbeing across Ireland. These calls include opportunities for projects under the Shared Island strand of the Creative Ireland Programme, supported by the Shared Island Fund.
Funding is available under:

• Creative Health & Wellbeing in the Community
• Creative Communities on a Shared Island
• Creative Youth Nurture Fund

Applications are invited from creative practitioners, groups, organisations, and communities to develop innovative cultural projects.

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On 12 September, the Carlingford Lough Greenway was officially opened. The newly completed 11.4 km greenway stretches from Newry’s Albert Basin to Omeath, Co. Louth, providing safe and scenic walking and cycling routes for locals and visitors. This was delivered with funding through the EU Interreg programme, the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland, the Department of Transport and the Shared Island Fund.

On 15 October, Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke, addressed the TCI (The Competitiveness Institute) Global Conference, which brought together over 200 delegates from more than 25 countries to explore opportunities in global connectivity, all-island collaboration, and shared economic growth. Northern Ireland First Minister, Michelle O’Neill, and Minister for Economy, Caoimhe Archibald, also addressed the conference. This flagship event—the world’s leading conference on clusters and innovation ecosystems—was hosted for the first time on the island of Ireland and, notably, on a cross-border basis as part of the Shared Island Enterprise Scheme, delivered by InterTradeIreland, Enterprise Ireland, and Invest Northern Ireland.

In case you missed it, the Shared Island Future Takes series features contributions from a range of people from Ireland, Northern Ireland and beyond, on how to build a shared future on the island of Ireland, underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement. Contributors give their take on an overarching question: For a more reconciled island of Ireland, however it is constituted, what should we give and what could we gain in the years ahead?

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