A5 and Casement Park to benefit after €800m funding boost announced by Taoiseach

Leo Varadkar has said a multimillion-euro funding package for Northern Ireland projects will also benefit border counties and the Dublin-Belfast “economic corridor”.

The Irish Government unveiled an 800 million euro-plus (£683 million) funding package for projects benefitting Northern Ireland, including 600 million euro (£512.8 million) towards the proposed upgrade of the A5 road.

The package also includes 50 million euro (£42.7 million) for the redevelopment of Casement Park GAA stadium in west Belfast – a venue earmarked to host matches during the Euro 2028 football tournament.

The Government has also restated its commitment to build the landmark Narrow Water Bridge connecting the Cooley Peninsula in Co Louth to the Mourne Mountains in Co Down.

The project will include the completion of the scenic Carlingford Greenway active travel route.

The money released through the coalition Government’s Shared Island Fund initiative also includes 12.5 million euro (£10.6 million) to increase the frequency of the Belfast/Dublin rail link to hourly services.

The funding package was approved by the cabinet in Dublin on Tuesday morning, with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Tanaiste Micheal Martin and Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan later formally announcing details at Government Buildings.

Mr Varadkar said the return of powersharing in Northern Ireland had brought “renewed hope” for what can be achieved through the Good Friday Agreement.

“The funding announced today shows our commitment to working with the new executive, and with the UK Government, to make the island of Ireland a better place for everyone who calls it home,” he said.

“They’re also going to benefit people in the border counties too and the Dublin-Belfast economic corridor,” Mr Varadkar added.He said the investment will upgrade connectivity between Dublin and Belfast and between Letterkenny, Derry and Dublin, as well as sport facilities.

“So I wouldn’t like this to be seen as an investment solely in Northern Ireland – it’ll also benefit the border counties and the wider all-island economy.”

Ulster GAA welcomes Casement Park announcement.

The Irish Government’s Shared Island package also includes 10 million euro for a new visitor experience at Battle of the Boyne site in Co Meath and new cross-border co-operation schemes focused on female entrepreneurship and tackling underprivilege in education.

Campaigners have been calling for the upgrade of the A5 for many years due to the high number of fatal collisions on the road.

The road links the city of Derry with Aughnacloy in Co Tyrone, located close to the Irish border.

It is also a key transport link for Co Donegal in the north-west of Ireland.

The Casement Park redevelopment has been delayed by a series of legal challenges and was further complicated by the lack of a functioning executive at Stormont for two years.

The project has also been hit by rising costs, with an original projected price tag of £77.5 million (90.6 million euro) now believed to have spiralled well above £100 million (116.9 million euro).

The derelict stadium has been selected for matches at Euro 2028, which is being jointly hosted by the UK and Ireland, but will need to be completed by the summer of 2027 in order to be rubberstamped as an approved venue.

Mr Varadkar said the funding announced on Tuesday represented the largest-ever package of Irish Government support for cross-border investments.

“Construction of the new A5 could start later this year, which will bring road connectivity to the north-west on a par with other parts of the island,” he said.

“The redevelopment of Casement Park stadium in Belfast will help maximise the benefit for Northern Ireland of hosting games in the Uefa Euro 2028 championship, which is a major east-west project.

“We also agreed today a major regeneration of the Battle of the Boyne site, including an allocation of 10 million euro (8.5 million euro) from the Shared Island Fund.

“Investment in an hourly service on the Enterprise will greatly assist the development of business and person-to-person links between Dublin and Belfast as well as all the towns on the way.

“This funding is about all-island investment, boosting the all-island economy and improving connections North and South, benefiting both jurisdictions and all communities.

“It is about understanding that, whatever the constitutional future of Ireland brings, investing in people, in quality of life, in opportunity, and for the generations to come, are all of our responsibilities and a common good we can best progress by working together.

”Tanaiste Mr Martin said the package marked the “beginning of a new and positive chapter in cross-border co-operation”.

“The funding commitments by the Government mean strategically important and iconic projects such as the A5 north-west road corridor, and the Narrow Water Bridge, a powerful symbol and physical connection between north and south, can move forward with real ambition,” he said.

Mr Martin added: “When I established the Shared Island initiative in the Department of the Taoiseach in 2020, I was clear that for it to be successful it needed to be a whole-of-Government priority.

“As ministerial colleagues reach out to and begin visits with their northern colleagues, I am excited about the future of the initiative.”

A scheme to turn the A5 into a dual carriageway was first approved in 2007 but has been held up by legal proceedings from an opposition group known as the Alternative A5 Alliance (AA5A).

Since 2007, 47 people have died on the single-lane road, including three members of the same family in one collision.

The Irish Government previously committed £400 million (467.9 million) to the A5 project in the 2006 St Andrews Agreement.

However, it cut that to £75 million (87.7 million euro) during the financial crash.

Niall McKenna, chairman of the A5 Enough is Enough campaign group, said the renewed funding pledge from Dublin was “good news”.

“We were always confident that the Irish Government’s financial commitment would be reinstated. We met them last summer in the Dail and there was cross-party support to promise to reinstate the full amount,” he told the PA news agency.

A public inquiry into the planned upgrade was held last year and Stormont’s Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd is examining its findings ahead of making a final decision on the dispute planning bid.

Mr McKenna added: “The lack of the money was certainly something that was used against the scheme going ahead, so it is one more obstacle removed.

“In terms of the cost of the scheme, of course it will be more expensive to deliver the scheme now than when it should have been delivered in 2007, but the cost of not going ahead is more death and more tragedy.

“The work needs to be done. The A5 is a catastrophic road in terms of deaths and injuries.

“The current statistics are that an average of three to four people die every year on this road, but the people who die are not statistics, every one of them leaves behind a traumatised family and friends.”

Prior to Tuesday’s announcement, the Irish Government had already allocated almost 250 million euro (£213 million) from the Shared Island Fund, including 44.5 million euro (£38 million) for construction of a new teaching building at Ulster University in Londonderry and 47 million euro (£40.1 million) for the restoration of the Ulster Canal.

Minister for Transport Mr Ryan said: “With today’s funding allocations, the Government is taking a step forward with our Shared Island investment objectives and meeting commitments under the New Decade, New Approach agreements.

“It is a clear signal that if we are to address climate challenges we are better to work on an all-island basis.

“New funding for an hourly-frequency rail service between the two largest cities on the island will significantly improve public transport connectivity along the Dublin-Belfast economic corridor and is in keeping with the vision of the all-island strategic rail review.

“The Government is also providing funding to complete the Carlingford Greenway, a flagship cross-border active travel project.

“Other Shared Island programmes on community climate action and electric vehicle charging point installation will get confirmation of grant awards in the coming months.

“We will work to progress other collaborative investment with the new executive, including further investment in sustainable transport and the green energy transition, so that together we provide for a sustainable future across the island of Ireland.”

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.