Debate contribution: North/South Bodies: Funding

Debate contribution by Mr Cathal Boylan on 27 May 2025.

MLA

Mr Cathal Boylan

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

27 May 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

North/South Bodies: Funding

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4972554

Read the official Assembly record

Text

The motion tabled by Sinn Féin is a simple one: it seeks to highlight the frustration that we should all share around the consistent blockage of additional funding for all-island bodies and calls for the changes that are needed to enable the Irish Government to increase their funding allocations at no extra expense to the Executive. The six all-island bodies, including Waterways Ireland and the Loughs Agency, undoubtedly serve to benefit the entire island: north, south, east and west. I am therefore bemused that, at a time when the Executive face ever-tightening budgets as a result of the continued austerity agenda of successive British Governments and when the Irish Government have shown a willingness to increase their funding allocation at no additional cost to the Executive, there is repeated resistance by one party to maximising the opportunities for each of the bodies that I have mentioned. Take the Loughs Agency, which has responsibility for the promotion and development of Lough Foyle and Carlingford lough for commercial and recreational purposes. I fail to understand why anyone would not want to see that body receiving additional funding to ensure that it flourishes. The need to protect our beautiful waterways is often spoken about in the Chamber, and I agree with that. When the opportunity exists to ensure that bodies such as Waterways Ireland and the Loughs Agency have the funding that they need to continue to protect our waterways, educate local students and citizens on the importance of waterways and manage and research new and innovative ways in which to conserve them, I am baffled as to the rationale for blocking much-needed increased funding contributions from the Government in Dublin. While some say that there is no reason to change the current funding model, I say that we are not in a position to blindly turn down funding. Every funding intervention should be harnessed as an opportunity to design a fair and sustainable funding model to support each of the all-island bodies. I implore all parties to support our motion to support a change in the funding model for North/South bodies to see the benefit that additional funding would have on them and to ensure that they can all continue their good work

371 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not qualifying

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:37 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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