Brendan Smith
Ceist:1. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Taoiseach for a report on the shared island dialogue on education systems and connecting communities. [30080/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 28 June 2023
Ceisteanna (1)
Freagraí ó Béal (3 píosaí cainte)
A shared island dialogue was held on 16 June at Dublin City University on the role of education in connecting communities across the island of Ireland. Some 150 education, civil society and political representatives from North and South participated in the event. The dialogue considered achievements and shortcomings of education systems in bringing communities together over the last 25 years and what a more ambitious approach would require in the years ahead. A report and video summary will be published by the Department.
Last week, the Government made some funding announcements from the shared island fund. A further €56 million has been allocated from the shared island fund to move forward with a range of substantial cross-Border investments. The major project is the commitment of €44.5 million for construction of a new teaching building at Ulster University’s campus in Derry. This will implement our commitment under the New Decade, New Approach agreement to capital investment at the campus for expanded provision of higher education in the north west. There has rightly been a long-standing demand by the people of Derry for expansion of higher education in the city and our investment contributes significantly to that goal. It will underpin the substantial and growing teaching and research co-operation between Ulster University and Atlantic Technological University in the north-west. The Government last week also announced the establishment of a new youth forum as part of the shared island initiative. This will commence in September and hear from young people across all communities on their vision and values for the future of this island. We have also made allocations from the fund for new all-island projects on the bio-economy, respite care for children diagnosed with cancer and to complete the tender for the Narrow Water Bridge.
In total, the Government has now allocated almost €250 million from the shared island fund for all-island projects. We are keen to work with the new Executive and with the British Government to deepen our North-South and east-west relationships and to bring people across this island together in a common cause.
I will not go back over the argument that we need a citizens’ assembly or an expanded shared island dialogue. We see the Narrow Water Bridge project is moving on. It and the A5 are necessary pieces of infrastructure which we want to see progress as much as possible.
I wish to ask about shared island funding for research projects. We know what it has done in the whole education sphere, educational attainment and the comparisons North and South but we need to be more holistic about the entire society and the economies across the island. We all know the benefits of the M1 Border corridor in my own part of the world. We should be moving to modelling what a united Ireland could look like and break it down into the very specific parts whether in health, education, the economy and all those other parts that make up society. We want to see movement on the Assembly and the Executive in the near future. We all know the difficulties with the British Government at this time but I would like an update on those matters.
On the Narrow Water Bridge, €2 million has been provided for the completion of the tender process for the bridge from the shared island fund. Louth County Council commenced the tender process in April and is due to conclude in October so hopefully it will be awarded this year or early next year. The Government will be appraised of the outcome of the tender and project costs. We will decide on the approach prior to the contract being awarded.
There has been significant funding for research provided from the shared island fund, not only North-South but also east-west. It is good to see the east-west element of the shared island fund taking shape. I can provide a note to the Deputy with some more detail on that. Some of the more interesting research that has been commissioned by the shared island fund is that comparing how systems operate in Northern Ireland compared with how they operate in the Republic whether in health or other areas. It is an open question as to whether a united Ireland will be a unitary state or not but were it to be a unitary state it is useful to have that baseline analysis done to know what the differences are. We know anecdotally but teasing them out, costing them and documenting them is significant and important work.