Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 January 2026
421. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the breakdown of funding budgeted for 2026 in relation to the Shared Island Fund; what it will be used for; amount budgeted for the next three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5441/26]
View answerThe Government’s Shared Island initiative is administered by the Department of the Taoiseach and aims to enhance cooperation, connection and mutual understanding across the island of Ireland, by delivering practical, outcome-focused, collaborative initiatives, across a range of sectors.
Under the Shared Island Fund, my Department is responsible for overseeing the delivery of two Tourism projects, through collaboration between the three tourism agencies on the island, which will support the sustainable growth of the tourism sector across the island of Ireland.
The Shared Island Brand Collaboration Project, with a budget allocation of €7.6 million aims to strengthen the connection between the Causeway Coastal Route and the Wild Atlantic Way in the North West of the island. This project is being delivered on a cooperative basis by Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland and Tourism Northern Ireland. One of the key work programmes in this project is a €3 million small grants scheme, which is aimed at greatly enhancing the visitor offering and visitor experiences along the routes. Applications for the small grants scheme are now closed, and details of the successful grant recipients will be announced in the coming weeks. The budget allocation in 2026 for the Shared Island Brand Collaboration Project is €6.105 million.
Funding for the Shared Destinations project was announced in February of last year, with a budget allocation of €23 million. Over the period 2026 to 2030, Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Northern Ireland and Tourism Ireland will work in partnership with local authorities to develop sustainable tourism amenities across the border region in three project areas – Carlingford Lough, Cuilcagh Lakelands UNESCO Global Geopark and Sliabh Beagh. The budget allocation also covers marketing campaigns for each shared destination, including an industry development programme, which aims to maximise the economic impact for each region. The budget allocation in 2026 for the Shared Destinations programme is €3.5 million.
In February 2024, the Irish Government announced €800m of funding for Shared Island priorities including €30m towards the establishment of a new Shared Island Enterprise Scheme developed by InterTradeIreland, Invest Northern Ireland and Enterprise Ireland. Through inter-agency collaboration, three thematic areas were developed focusing on women’s entrepreneurship across the island, all island clustering and networks and a collaborative “Green” investment Scheme focusing on the development of alternative energy solutions.
Shared Island Allocations in 2026 for the three respective bodies are set out in the below table:
|
Body |
Amount |
|
Intertrade Ireland |
€2,455,813.93 |
|
Contribution to Invest NI |
€6,310,461.63 |
|
Enterprise Ireland |
€1,784,000 |
|
Total |
€10,550,275.56 |
The allocations to Enterprise Ireland, InterTradeIreland and Invest NI in 2026 will allow for the continued delivery of the Shared Island Sustainability Capital Grant Scheme. This scheme was developed through collaboration between Enterprise Ireland, Invest NI and InterTradeIreland, and is supporting firms across the island of Ireland in taking forward capital projects that integrate sustainable technologies to decarbonise industrial operations. The scheme is funding disruptive and diverse projects, spread across the island of Ireland, that will ensure that enterprises are well placed to capitalise on emerging and growth sectors while delivering on net zero commitments, decarbonisation and digital transformation.
InterTradeIreland will continue to roll out further programmes promoting Women’s Entrepreneurship across the island building on the strong demand already demonstrated for such programmes. In 2026 InterTradeIreland will rollout further iterations of its WE (Women’s Entrepreneurship) to support over 350 female entrepreneurs to grow, build and scale their businesses. InterTradeIreland will also launch additional programmatic supports in this area as the year develops.
