THE IRISH GOVERNMENT has announced funding of up to €44.5 million to expand Ulster University’s Derry campus.

It’s part of a €56 million investment in several cross-border projects and initiatives.

The money, from the Shared Island Fund, will go towards a new teaching and student services building at the campus, including new lecture and seminar spaces, computer labs and student services.

The new building will allow the campus to expand to a capacity of 6,000 students.

Announcing the funding, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: “There there has been a long-standing desire from the people of Derry for the expansion of higher education in the city and this will help make that a reality.

“Our commitment recognises that roughly 10% of students in the campus in Derry are from the Republic of Ireland, with significant growth in recent years.

“As a government, we’re very keen to work with the new [Northern Ireland] Executive, once established, and with the British government to take our north-south and east-west relationship across the board to a higher level.”

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin TD, said the funding “will further deepen the people to people links across this island, including in such important areas as health and education – things which impact so much on the day to day lives of us all.”

When asked about concerns from unionists that the funding amounted to a “slush fund” for a united Ireland, Martin said he had not come across such sentiments.

He said he had met with the Orange Order recently and “they’re open to the Shared Island idea”.

Civic unionism does not just mean acquiescence, but does mean engagement with the shared Island process

Varadkar added: “It really is putting money and resources behind north-south cooperation and the Good Friday agreement is all about the totality of relationships, and that includes north-south cooperation.”

He said the funding “will be of benefit not just to people in the city of Derry but people in the wider Northwest region as well”.

It is hoped that the fund will improve third-level education in the region, and provide jobs and economic growth in the medium term.

The funding will also underpin teaching and research cooperation between Ulster University and the Atlantic Technological University in Donegal.

As well as funds for the new campus, the government also announced financial supports for the construction of two new all-island bioeconomy demonstrator facilities for the agriculture and marine sectors (€7 million), a new respite and therapeutic centre for children diagnosed with cancer and their families from across the island of Ireland (€2.5 million) and completion this year of the tender process for the Narrow Water Bridge project (€2 million).

Additionally, a new Youth Forum will also be set up under the Shared Island initiative, in which 80 young people from communities across the island of Ireland can set out their vision and values for a shared future.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood welcomed the announcement, calling it “transformational”.

The Foyle MP said: “This is a great day for Magee and the people of Derry. This significant investment from the Irish Government will be transformational, allowing us to grow student numbers in our city by providing additional courses and resources that will make [the Derry campus] an even more attractive place to study.

“I’m extremely proud of the work the SDLP did with then-Taoiseach Micheál Martin when developing the Shared Island Unit and this is another concrete example of how it has delivered for people in the North.