The Shared Island Initiative gets its own page in Fianna Fáil’s 200-page manifesto, amid five pages on a broader “Shared Island Agenda”. This is more than Fine Gael has managed so far in its election campaign. Although the initiative operates through a unit in the Department of the Taoiseach, it was established when Micheál Martin held that office and remains very much Fianna Fáil’s baby. The manifesto makes 13 pledges to enhance the initiative, beginning with an additional €1 billion for its budget, the Shared Island Fund. The fund has already received €1 billion in two tranches to last throughout this decade, equivalent to €100 million a year. The manifesto does not specify a time-frame for the additional money, but if it is over the incoming Government’s usual term that would triple spending for the rest of this decade to €300 million a year.
While little of the fund is spent solely and directly in Northern Ireland, resources on this scale invoke the words attributed to the late US senator Everett Dirksen: “a billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money”. A boosted budget can only encourage the growing expectation in Northern Ireland that the Republic might help with struggling infrastructure projects, or even step in to plug gaps in public services.
The second pledge in the manifesto is to “increase staffing levels in the Shared Island Unit and introduce specific targets for each government department to come forward with new and relevant projects”. This looks like a cunning response to demands for the next government to plan for a united Ireland. Labour has called for this, as have figures within government parties, including Leo Varadkar. It appears Fianna Fáil would put all ministers in a future coalition on the spot, requiring them to come up with practical proposals in the here and now, rather than letting them blather on about a civic forum or complain that others are not preparing for the future. The third pledge is to ensure the unit “engages with all communities and avoids any engagement in party political campaigns”. That looks like a warning to Sinn Féin, and Sinn Féin-adjacent groups. Another pledge is to produce an “annual statistical publication” of comparable socio-economic data.
Both RTÉ and the BBC have staff and offices in each other’s territories, providing diligent coverage. The obstacle they face is audience disinterest. Fianna Fáil faces it too
There are two further related promises under the Shared Island agenda: “undertake significantly more research to understand the full extent of differences and similarities between the current jurisdictions on vital issues” and “engage with other parties on areas where work can be undertaken to develop essential information and proposals concerning future constitutional arrangements”.
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So Fianna Fáil is opening the door to planning for a united Ireland, alongside other parties, provided this begins with establishing basic facts and figures.
Partly this is more political cunning, putting rivals on the spot and buying time for Fianna Fáil to get its own thoughts in order. Partly it is a genuine solution to a fundamental problem. What passes for debate on a united Ireland is endlessly derailed by absurd claims from activists, academics and politicians – including members of Fianna Fáil. They insist Northern Ireland is desperately poor, or so rich it requires no subvention, or that somehow it is both at the same time. Only once such claims can be definitively debunked might we have arrived at the start of a serious conversation.
The next pledge in this section is to “ensure that discussions on a referendum on unity are not allowed to get in the way of the essential work of building the understanding and reconciliation, without which the fundamental causes of conflict and division cannot be addressed”. Fianna Fáil has thus mentioned a Border poll, and not made reconciliation a precondition for holding one, while still making it clear there must be reconciliation regardless.
Other proposals for the Shared Island Initiative include a new fund for cross-Border research organisations, exploring common elements in the northern and southern school curriculums and increasing the amount of cross-Border journalism. There are two ideas for the latter: funding the Media Commission “to encourage increased levels of cross-Border professional journalism” and funding “research on how to increase levels of daily cross-Border engagement with media coverage other than at times of crisis”.
This points to State funding of public interest journalism, a problematic concept the UK and Ireland are considering to save local newspapers. The BBC already funds a scheme for local reporting; the simplest way to support more cross-Border journalism would be funding posts in existing news organisations. Northern nationalists tend to criticise RTÉ for ignoring them and the BBC for ignoring the Republic. This is unfair, as both broadcasters have staff and offices in each other’s territories, providing diligent coverage. The obstacle they face is audience disinterest. Fianna Fáil faces it too: these fascinating few pages in its manifesto really deserve more attention.