The Irish government has announced substantial €800 million in new funding for cross-border projects.
This includes €600 million (£400 million) for the upgrade of the A5 road which has claimed the lives of almost 50 people over the years.
And it’s also allocating €50 million (£40 million) for the redevelopment of Casement Park in west Belfast. The final bill for Casement is said to be the region of £200m-£220m.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: “The commitments we’ve made today are about potential for cross border communities.
“It’s about understanding that whatever constitutional future of Ireland and Northern Ireland as a whole may be, investing in people and infrastructure, quality of life, in opportunity for generations to come are all of our shared and a common good that we can all achieve by working together.”
On the A5 upgrade, Mr Vardkar said an allocation of €600m would “bring connectivity between north and south in line with the rest of the island”.
Mr Varadkar along with his partners in government, Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) Micheál Martin and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan addressed the media in Dublin.
The funding announcement also includes updates on existing projects such as the Narrow Water Bridge.
Tanáiste Micheál Martin described it as “a special and important moment”.
He said: “Iconic and strategically important projects that have been talked about for decades have either been given the go-ahead to start building or been given significant funding commitments to allow them to move forward with the help of partners, as in the case of the A5 upgrade.”
Mr Martin added that he was “particularly pleased” to give the green light to the Narrow Water Bridge project.
He said the money for Casement Park was a “major investment in the social fabric of a part of Belfast that has suffered from disadvantage over many years”.
Irish Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said the funding was “timely and important” with the return of the Northern Ireland Executive and North-South Ministerial Council begins to meet.
Mr Ryan said the A5 upgrade and hourly train services between Belfast and Dublin would “improve and strengthen” connectivity.
Mr Ryan said the funding was just “scratching the surface” and would deepen the connections on the island of Ireland.
The SDLP has said the Irish government’s financial commitments would “help surcharge some projects that have been talked about for years”.
Party leader and Foyle MP Colm Eastwood called for the Stormont executive to publish its commitments to key projects.
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