Irish election: Shared Island funding ‘vital’ for border communities

For three-and-a-half years, the Irish government has spent hundreds of millions of euros on its Shared Island Initiative – a scheme which aims to fund cross-border projects that benefit people in both the Republic and Northern Ireland.

Some of that money has been put towards big projects like the A5 road and the redevelopment of Casement Park, combined with money from the Northern Ireland Executive.

But away from the eye-catching big builds, dozens of organisations have been granted money for schemes which reach across both sides of the border.

With a general election just 48 hours away, those groups hope the next administration will see the value of keeping the funding flowing.

One of the organisations to get a share of the €1.5m (£1.25m) Civic Society Fund was Lifestyle Development Group, based in Drogheda, County Louth.

It runs five separate schemes including an adult education programme, a retail skills course and a creche.

Earlier in 2024 it was granted €31,000 (£26,000) to run a programme called Shared Roots and Routes, working with the Rural Health Partnership in County Armagh.

It brings together women from both sides of the border for classes, trips, activities and the opportunity to explore their shared history and heritage.

Project co-ordinator Marie McLoughlin said the funding had provided a great opportunity to reach across historical divides.

“Everybody is sitting with each other and having a chat and all the craic, and the stories that come out,” she said.

“It also shows that there is very little between the north and south.

“It’s also broken down a little bit of the barriers, where we would have had preconceived ideas of the north.”

Lifestyle Development’s managing director Eilín Casey said part of the motivation for applying for the funding had been an opportunity to create a stronger link with women who lived just a few miles away.

“South Armagh and Louth are very close together and we figured it would be good for us to interact with somebody else nearby,” she said.

“Even though we have a shared history, sometimes that was seen as two separate histories.

“It has opened up a whole new way of discussing our histories, it has given people licence to express themselves.”

Regardless of who forms the next government in Dublin, Ms Casey said they should be serious about continuing to fund groups like hers.

“For border communities the importance of these type of programmes cannot be understated.

“If I could say anything to the government I would say: ‘Please pay attention to this.’

“This is something which would benefit everybody in the whole of Ireland.”

Sister Ann Brady, one of the founder members of Lifestyle Development, said the funding had been “core to helping us to do what we aimed to do”.

“We are really hopefully that we will be successful in our application for another round of funding to continue and further develop the project and look at the present day challenges faced by people in south Armagh and in this area,” she said.

On the other side of the country, in County Donegal, Shared Island cash has been funding an environmental scheme with an organisation in neighbouring County Londonderry.

For the joint-CEO of Inishowen Development Partnership, it is a common-sense approach when it comes to the environment, which pays no attention to human geography and borders.

His organisation got €24,000 (£20,000) to work with The Rural Area Partnership in Derry on a project called Networking Community Collaboration for Environmental Stewardship.

“Because of our geographic location linking with the north is vital,” Andrew Ward said.

“The environment and other areas don’t stop at the border, when we had huge floods here in 2017 there were also floods in Derry.

“The idea is that when the project is all over we will have a core of people north and south in an environmental cluster.

“Shared Island is a great tool for helping in that.

“Without it I think we are missing a huge opportunity.”

The scheme involves workshops on topics such as protecting wildlife, how to conduct bird surveys and how gardening can benefit wildlife.

Mr Ward praised the ease of applying for the funding and said there were plenty of opportunities to expand it further in border communities.

“What I would love to see is a marine innovation centre in Donegal and maybe one in the north,” he said.

“I would love to see us using Shared Island funding to look at the marine and see where we can get good well payed jobs for our youth going forward instead of them emigrating.

“It is an ideal vehicle for communities to come together and work on areas of common interest.”

Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin and the Green Party all say they will increase funding for the Shared Island Unit – or its capacity – if elected.

Meanwhile, Fine Gael, Labour and Aontú all say they will use the scheme.

People Before Profit, the Social Democrats and Solidarity make no specific mention of the funding.

However, the Social Democrats say there is “no option but to coordinate” on issues such as energy and the environment and this should be expanded to public services.