Cross-Border Co-operation

27. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the shared island unit in his Department. [75643/26]

28. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the shared island unit in his Department. [75656/26]

29. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Taoiseach for a report on the work of the shared island unit. [64936/26]

30. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the shared island unit in his Department. [64349/26]

31. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the shared island unit in his Department. [64302/26]

32. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the shared island unit in his Department. [64352/26]

33. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the shared island unit in his Department. [68791/26]

34. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the shared island unit in his Department. [69880/26]

35. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the Shared Island unit in his Department. [70051/26]

36. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the shared island unit in his Department. [70059/26]

37. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the shared island unit in his Department. [75815/26]

38. Deputy Michael Collins asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the shared island unit in his Department. [76177/26]

39. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the shared island unit in his Department. [76649/26]

40. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the shared island unit in his Department. [76697/26]

41. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the shared island unit in his Department. [77413/26]

42. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the shared island unit in his Department. [77482/26]

43. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the shared island unit in his Department. [77502/26]

I would like to be able to read some of it. We can take three minutes off the whole lot or we can go for three minutes longer.

Deputy Paul Murphy will try not to do that.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 27 to 43, inclusive, together. The programme for Government and the revised national development plan set out an ambitious agenda for building our shared island, backed by a total €2 billion commitment to the shared island fund to 2035. We are forging ahead with this investment and co-operation agenda across all sectors. The Narrow Water Bridge reached a major milestone in its construction on 20 October. Major steel components of the bridge arrived from Belgium at Carlingford Lough for assembly on site in the coming months. The bridge will do far more than connect two shores. It will bring communities closer, strengthen links between the Mourne Mountains and the Cooley Peninsula and help to unlock new opportunities for recreation, sustainable tourism and economic development across the region. I look forward to seeing the bridge take shape in the months ahead and to the lasting benefits it will bring for communities on both sides of the lough. On 23 June, the Government made a funding commitment of more than €377 million from the shared island fund to resource 12 new projects to be delivered as part of the initiative between 2027 and 2030. Among these capital allocations are €193 million to improve rail infrastructure and travel times between Dublin, Belfast and Derry; €35 million for the continuation of the hourly frequency service between Dublin and Belfast to 2030; €40 million investment in offshore renewable energy servicing facilities at eligible ports North and South; and a €3.5 million contribution to cricket grounds development in Belfast as part of the joint hosting by Ireland and the UK of the International Cricket Council, ICC, Men’s T20 World Cup in 2030. There are also shared island fund contributions to enable major new co-operation programmes up to 2030 on water quality in Lough Neagh catchment areas North and South, with €33 million allocated; early years education; digital creative industries; industrial sustainability; a new support centre as part of the North West Cancer Centre at Altnagelvin; Border-area tourism development; and a docklands bridges delivery partnership. This brings to more than €1 billion the total investment by the Government from the fund to date, with more than 50 major all-island projects and programmes being supported by the fund. The latest dialogue phase of the shared island initiative, the shared home place programme, commenced this year. This invites people across the island and beyond to explore, through a heritage and culture lens, the question of what a shared home place means to them, past, present, and future. A number of components are being taken forward by the Heritage Council, national cultural institutions and a diaspora voices project through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The shared island media initiative, led by Coimisiún na Meán, has a new shared island sound and vision strand, which will also include options for programming and productions in response to the shared home place programme. The shared island research programme continues to provide high-quality evidence and analysis of the island as a whole in economic and social terms. All research is available at a new repository, gov.ie/sharedisland/research, which I launched on 29 June, to host and increase accessibility to the more than 50 shared island research programme outputs to date. Further ESRI shared island work is in train on health inequalities, economic trends, productivity, regional inequality, gender-based violence and care of older persons, to be published over the coming months. Finally, implementation of the programme for Government commitment to a new North-South statistical series is being taken forward by the Central Statistics Office, CSO. There was a first publication on 3 June, Ireland and Northern Ireland: A Regional Economic Comparison. The series by the CSO, in consultation with its Northern Ireland counterpart, will provide further comparable data on social and economic measures across both jurisdictions.

I thank the Taoiseach. Given the popularity, success and demand for shared island funding, including the €10 million the Taoiseach referenced for the digital creative industries innovation programme announced by the Minister, Deputy James Lawless, in mid-October, will he outline some of the key priority schemes for the period 2027 to 2030?

The shared island initiative is not just a concept now. It is an important programme of investment which will help to realise the potential of many of the natural resources on this island. I particularly welcome the focus on broader tourism development, especially in the area of regenerative tourism. The Taoiseach was in the Cuilcagh Mountain area with me on the Cavan-Fermanagh border, where he saw first hand the Cuilcagh Lakelands UNESCO Global Geopark. I welcome the investment he approved for that tourism initiative. I also welcome that he approved the commissioning by the National Economic and Social Council of a study of the opportunities and challenges facing the central Border region. We have particular challenges in that region, both North and South, because we do not have any major urban centre. I hope the work will proceed as rapidly as possible to identify the opportunities because far too often in the past, currency fluctuations and so on destroyed our economies on both sides of the Border at different times. I therefore welcome that development.

There is no volume.

There is no microphone.

Can the clock be stopped?

We can hear the Deputy.

He is going over to the Opposition benches. The flexibility of Deputy Crowe is to be commended.

I think this was Deputy O'Gorman's seat so it is a kind of in-between seat. The shared island unit has demonstrated the immense power of cross-Border investment from the A5 upgrade to the landmark €50 million investment in Casement Park. However, as we build world-class shared sport infrastructure, our competitive sporting structures must also evolve. The success of the women's all-island cup proves that cross-Border football works. It commands a massive public appetite and it can break down those age-old divisions. However, the men's domestic game remains structurally fractured and an all-island national team remains a distant ambition. If rugby and hockey can compete, win and unite as one island on the sporting stage, why not soccer? Will the Taoiseach commit that the shared island unit will actively engage with both the FAI and the IFA to explore the possibility of a fully unified league structure here on this island under a single historic all-island football association that truly represents everyone across this island?

The shared island initiative has real potential to strengthen the Irish language and our shared heritage. Omeath Park House has huge history. It was built by John Obins Woodhouse from Portadown and later hosted Coláiste Bhríde, founded by Eoin MacNeill, where Pádraig Pearse is believed to have written the Irish Proclamation. Omeath is the home of the Irish language in the north east and right along the east coast. The Fadgies came from Omeath and set up the first urban Gaeltacht in Belfast. I want the shared island unit to invest in this community, in the Irish language and in protecting this history.

I welcome the new Government body that is tasked with scoping out models and, I assume, challenges in relation to different constitutional futures in Ireland. Perhaps the Taoiseach could give details. This means research and preparations on the possibility of Irish unity. I assume this is Government leading out in relation to the issue. This does not take away from any work being done as regards reconciliation. Are there plans for a forum where we can have the conversations that need to happen on what a new Ireland would look like? This should not be held up by particular issues happening within political unionism at the moment.

The one thing we share on this island is a danger of gender-based violence and we have the femicide epidemic. By my count, there have been four femicides in the North and 11 in the South this year. By femicide, I do not just mean women being murdered; I mean women murdered by men because they are women. The rate in the South has doubled since last year. Women's Aid has had an increase of one third in calls but not in funding. Why has Women's Aid in the North had its core funding cut completely and utterly when there is a femicide epidemic? Loredana Morosanu, the latest femicide victim, exhibited signs of violence and distress and sought help, but still got killed. Why did the justice Minister see fit to spend his time pulling up the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre about a consent advertisement when there is a femicide and gender-based violence epidemic on this island? I really think he needs to be held to account for that.

I was in Newry last night meeting with People Before Profit members who are part of the SOS Daisy Hill campaign, which is about the hospital in Newry from which the Southern Trust has decided to relocate maternity services to Craigavon hospital. Thousands of people have been marching in Newry because of this. The shared island unit comes into this because 71,000 people in the Republic use Daisy Hill Hospital. For them, it is the nearest acute hospital. The problem is with consultants. Is the Taoiseach engaged with this very serious issue which is affecting, on a cross-Border basis, the acute and maternity services for Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry. Will he engage with it? Should we not use the shared island fund to try to assist in developing an all-Ireland health service which will not dismantle maternity services and other services in Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry?

Someone living in the North who loses a loved one can contact one government service, called Tell Us Once, and it informs all relevant state bodies. No such thing is available in the South. Instead, people have the upset about correspondence still coming to the loved one who has passed away and the hassle of contacting multiple State agencies. Will the Government commit to introduce a similar tell-us-once service in the South to enable those whose loved ones have passed away to contact the State once and it then informs all relevant Departments?

I join the Taoiseach in welcoming the repeal and replacement of the legacy legislation in the UK House of Commons. It was notable that some MPs raised concerns on committee stage over the Irish Government's commitment to fulfil its obligations to work with the UK Government as a result of this Act. Will the Taoiseach commit to ensuring that the Irish Government will fulfil its obligations to ensure that legacy is something we properly address? A core part of reconciliation has to be restorative justice. I was reminded of that as Brian Stack's family were here two weeks ago. Will the Taoiseach commit to ensuring that restorative justice is a part of the legacy and the resolution in relation to the Troubles?

I welcome the announcement of the new Government body to be tasked with scoping out the models and challenges for different potential constitutional futures. I ask the Taoiseach to indicate a timeline? Will it be before Christmas, which is the expectation? What opportunity will the people of Ireland have to submit to this research and planning exercise because the people of Ireland want to be part of this conversation?

Talking about a shared island goes back to the need to talk about our shared electricity grid. There are ongoing delays with the North-South interconnector. If EirGrid is issuing grid connections for renewable projects that depend on major transmission upgrades, it should be reassessing those delays. I have asked this repeatedly of EirGrid and I ask the Taoiseach to ask EirGrid. We are talking about €19 billion in planned grid investment for our shared island, for the North-South interconnector and for all of Ireland. My question is simple: who is ultimately accountable for delivering that infrastructure on time? If EirGrid is issuing connection offers and the grid is delayed, can the Taoiseach ensure it reassesses those offers? I understand we need investment in our grid from renewable projects, but we need guarantees that the grid will be able to take them.

The Taoiseach has acknowledged that the shared island initiative is not enough to prepare for Irish unity. Will the body that is proposed to examine the case support a proper process of planning for a united Ireland? Will that process involve all communities and all perspectives? Will there be an opportunity for people from all across this island to feed into that process and to have their say? The conversation has been ongoing for a long time, but it has certainly gathered pace over the last number of years. People want to have their say and feed into that process. That road to Damascus conversion to the planning process is really welcome, late in the day as it might be, and people are up for the conversation. I am eager to have space provided for communities all across the island of Ireland to engage in the process.

I also welcome the announcement for the preparation for the constitutional future and I look forward to getting the details of that. The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, has significant investment capacity but its statutory remit currently restricts investments to the Twenty-six Counties. Given the considerable infrastructure and economic development needs and opportunities that would benefit the whole of the island, can ISIF's remit be expanded to allow for investments in projects in the North, thereby complementing the shared island fund and supporting balanced economic development across the island?

I thank all the Deputies for their contributions. I appreciate Deputy Devlin's comments in respect of shared island. I outlined some of the key allocations that will be focused on over the next number of years in my earlier reply. The Dublin-Belfast-Derry rail infrastructure will involve an investment of about €193 million up to 2030. The Minister for Transport and his Northern Ireland counterpart are taking forward this major investment project to boost rail connectivity between Derry, Belfast and Dublin. The work on a set of agreed projects, North and South, will increase line speed, capacity and service resilience, in line with the all-island strategic rail review, which we produced some years ago under the shared island unit, and the joint rail project prioritisation strategy. This is co-funded with aligned investment by the Department of Transport and the Northern Ireland Department for Infrastructure in both the Dublin-Belfast and Belfast-Derry lines. It builds on the strong partnership approach between the Government and the Executive on planning a co-ordinated investment in rail infrastructure and services, including the €700 million Enterprise fleet replacement programme, the contract signing for which I attended in Belfast in May, and which is in receipt of €165 million from PEACEPLUS. There is, therefore, significant stuff on rail. The continuation of the hourly frequency service to Belfast is a significant impact of shared island funding. We are now providing funding for the next three years, until 2030, for the Belfast-Dublin line. The hourly frequency service was introduced in October 2024. It effectively doubles rail connectivity between Dublin and Belfast, as the two largest cities on the island, supporting economic and societal connections. There has been a 40% increase in passenger numbers in its first year. We have an offshore renewable energy ports development scheme. A total of €40 million has been allocated to that. The idea is that the Minister for Transport, in consultation with his Northern Ireland Executive counterpart, is overseeing progress of a new offshore renewable energy ports development scheme. It will enable progress next year with eligible projects at an advanced stage of development. By investing on an island-wide basis, the scheme will increase the capacity, agility and resilience of offshore renewable energy, ORE, in many areas and support the development of island-wide supply chains for ORE. We are contributing to the cricket grounds in Belfast in terms of the redevelopment of cricket facilities at the Stormont Estate in Belfast. That will support the hosting of the T20 Cricket World Cup 2030. The programme for Government commits to an all-island approach to that. The Executive, Cricket Ireland and the Northern Ireland Civil Servants Sports Association are also funding the project. I can go on to the issue of water in Lough Neagh-----

Please do not. We have a lot of questions.

A total of €33 million was allocated to improving water quality in the Lough Neagh catchment area. That is now under way until 2031. Both Departments are also contributing funding. Over €10 million is being provided by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and over €13 million is being provided by Northern Ireland's Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. Some €13 million has been provided to early learning skills and early learning and childcare services across the island. The digital creative industries has been allocated €10 million to strengthen those industries across the island, delivered by the Higher Education Authority. The Minister, Deputy Lawless, and I announced that on 16 October. The sustainability challenge fund has been allocated €20 million, and so in. There is also healthcare co-operation. Deputy Brendan Smith raised the issue of Border tourism and Cuilcagh UNESCO Geopark. He first brought this to my attention and the shared island initiative enabled for that to be purchased by the State to create, in essence, a nationally controlled park. We are now developing a tourism project there as well. There are also other tourism projects, particularly in Carlingford and Mourne, to complement the work of the Narrow Water bridge so that these areas become areas of destination in future from a tourism perspective. I hear Deputy Smith loud and clear in terms of the central Border region. That study is extremely important. There is a lot we can do into the future to create greater economic output and activity, which would benefit North and South. Deputy Crowe raised the issue of the A5 upgrade, which we are fully committed to. That is being funded directly out of our NDP-----

I referred to football associations.

I am coming to that, but the Deputy also mentioned the A5. In terms of football, we do not try to prescribe or overly interfere with the running of things. There is a long history. David McCullagh's recent book, From Crown to Harp, is a very good publication. From the very beginning, following partition, both football associations went their separate ways, almost independent of the politics of what was going on at the time. There have been different attempts over the years to try to create greater synergy and harmony between the two football associations. I would love to see that. I will put it this way to the Deputy. Shared island funding is available for cross-Border collaboration and shared programmes between soccer in Northern Ireland and soccer in the Republic. I hope the two associations could continue to engage on that. Deputy McGreehan raised the interesting history of Omeath Park House. I will engage with her in respect of that in terms of the Irish language and the heritage there. Deputy Ó Murchú raised reconciliation, which is very important. The shared island initiative is separate from any work. One of the successes of the shared island initiative is that all shades of opinion and all traditions have engaged with it in different communities in an open and constructive way. It is important that we protect that, without any preconditions. In terms of a new pathway and how we approach the future constitutional frameworks on this island, we need to bring as many voices as possible to the table, and do it in a way that is not just nationalists and republicans talking to each other. That has failed in the past. The Good Friday Agreement was based on the principles of people coming around the table to get-----

Under the shared island initiative, we have worked with Women's Aid and provided funding for a joint approach between the National Women's Council of Ireland and Women's Aid in respect of gender-based violence. We want to do more projects with Women's Aid in respect of this issue. The Deputy is correct; it is a grave issue. We have real issues here, North and South, in respect of it. In response Deputy Boyd Barrett's question, we do not run the health services in the North. That is a matter for the elected representatives of Northern Ireland and for the Executive. There may be a background issue to the relocation of maternity services. Every health service has had strategic reconfiguration of services. It does not mean the end or closure of any particular hospital, but it can mean different things are going on in different hospitals. We contributed significantly to the cancer and heart centres in Altnagelvin Hospital. We do invest-----

Engage on Daisy Hill Hospital.

-----in Northern Ireland hospitals, but we do not interfere with the policy. That is a matter for the Executive and those in government in Northern Ireland.

It is to do with training consultants. They need help.

There are lots of tricky and complex issues in respect of that. In response to Deputy Murphy, I will ask our public service to look at that service in Northern Ireland, with a view to seeing whether we can establish something similar here. It is a good initiative. The whole project is about learning from each other. Different jurisdictions can do things better and we can learn too and adopt some of what is going in Northern Ireland. They have been very helpful to us in emergency preparedness, for example, and supporting us when we have had emergencies in the Republic. Deputy Eoin Hayes raised restorative justice. We will commit to implementing that. Legislation has been agreed to by the Government in terms of implementing the framework agreement in respect of legacy. We are committed to doing that. I hope the Minister will be able to bring legislation to the House sar' i bhfad. Deputy O'Rourke raised the timeline. Again, my comments are similar to what I said earlier to Deputy Ó Murchú. All voices are important. We have further work to do at Government level on this. We will revert as soon as the proposals are fleshed out. Deputy Heneghan raised the interconnector. I am not quite getting what he is hinting at. There have been strong political issues around the delay on the interconnector for a long number of years. We need the interconnector for houses, industry, farming and agriculture. I have said to EirGrid that it needs to communicate with communities up and down the country. We need a comprehensive engagement with communities in respect of energy needs into the future and the needs of our electricity grid, which are going to be critical. There are three dimensions to Deputy McGuinness's question. The shared island funding has been very impactful. I think we need reform of the institutions in Northern Ireland. It is a critical next step. I have been saying that for the last four to five years. We then need to have a pathway, as per the constitutional change we made in 1999. We desire unity in our Constitution. Our Constitution states that we want to pursue unity, but in peace and harmony. Some of the rhetoric we saw in recent times does not lead in that direction. We need to be very conscious of all of that. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh raised ISIF. There are organisations within Northern Ireland, such as Invest Northern Ireland and so on, which are working with new starts and the enterprise sector. I am not ruling anything out, but we would have to be careful that we are not cutting across Executive functions within the North.