British-Irish Co-operation
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-24
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Erin McGreehan (FF), Louth

There is a significant opportunity to place research, innovation, higher education and collaboration at the centre of any future conversations we have with regard to any UK-Ireland summits. The UK’s return to Horizon Europe is an important and welcome development. Restoring those research links will benefit both our islands. It should also encourage us to think more ambitiously about what additional bilateral initiatives could achieve. I propose that between now and the next UK-Ireland summit we consider the establishment of a dedicated UK-Ireland innovation and research partnership to complement Horizon Europe and deepen collaboration between our universities, researchers and industries. Such a partnership could support joint research projects, research and mobility, doctoral training programmes and innovation-led collaborations in areas where both our countries share strategic interests, such as healthcare, climate action, food security, AI and advanced technologies. The academic relationship between Ireland and the UK took a hit during Brexit and this an opportunity for us all.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-24/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:06+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-24