19. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Taoiseach for a report on the work of the shared island unit. [50000/25]

Sentiment score: 0.11

I thank the Taoiseach for the reply and in particular the announcement of €50 million for the new projects, which is very welcome. We need to see more of the practical people-focused projects like those. The Taoiseach mentioned the Dublin-Derry link among other initiatives. The Enterprise rail link between Dublin and Belfast has proven very popular. I ask that it be considered to extend that further to support the night-time economy of both cities. That would be a very important move. In the same spirit, the announcement by Minister for higher education, Deputy Lawless, of a major new partnership between Dundalk IT and Queen's University, establishing DKIT as a University College of Queen's University is a landmark development for higher education and for the Dublin-Belfast corridor. Will the Taoiseach set out how these shared island allocations and DKIT-Queen's partnership will be aligned as part of a cohort plan for the Dublin-Belfast corridor? Will the Taoiseach confirm that the necessary policy and legislative frameworks will be brought to Government early in 2026 so that students, staff and local communities can see these benefits on the ground as quickly as possible?

Sentiment score: 0.37