Cross-Border Co-operation
Dail Éireann — 2025-11-19
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

I thank all of the Deputies for raising important issues. Deputy McGreehan in the first instance correctly identified that we are delivering results in respect of the shared island unit. It is practical and impactful. It is not about rhetoric. We have had rhetoric for 60 or 70 years and longer. It is about getting things done and delivering, and that is what we are doing. I take the point the Deputy made in respect of Dundalk IT and Queen's University. That is a very exciting development. It is a huge opportunity. Both institutions have to work now, as Deputy Ó Murchú said, to get the heads of agreement worked out and proper understanding for the benefit of students and staff. Deputy McGreehan has been a strong advocate of this. Deputy Ó Murchú has raised it as well. I have made it clear to the Minister, Deputy James Lawless, that I am supportive. I have no doubt that if the shared island unit gets a concrete proposal, it can respond positively. Obviously there is a lot more detailed work to be done. We need to do this properly, which is why the fund goes out to 2035. We do not need to rush things. We need to get them done properly and effectively so it is informed.
Deputy Devlin used the phrase "practical people-focused projects". This sums it up. No other Government since the foundation of the State has invested in Northern Ireland like this Government has. The shared island unit is a unique departure. It speaks far more than a lot of the rhetoric. I have been reading a lot about the 1940s, the 1950s and the 1960s. Some pretty good histories have been published recently on partition. Some good work has been done on all of this. Throughout the decades people spoke about four green fields, unity and all the rest of it but very little happened. We have come through 30 years of horrific violence, which was unnecessary in my view. We have an opportunity now. People are entitled to their constitutional positions. There is no issue there. There is nothing stopping any political party, by the way, from advancing a detailed blueprint. I have yet to see one. There is nothing stopping any political party doing this but we can come back to it on another day.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-11-19/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:07+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-11-19