The Irish government has instructed its main foreign investment agency to consider the entire island when developing strategy, Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced at the fifth Shared Island forum in Dublin on June 29.

Speaking at the event, Mr Martin said the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) must think on an all-island basis and work more closely with Invest Northern Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and InterTrade Ireland. He said enterprise bodies on both sides of the border were already preparing to deepen economic cooperation.

Mr Martin noted that the economies of Northern Ireland and the Republic remain unconverged and stressed the need to build a stronger enterprise-focused economy in the North.

Prof Séamus McGuinness of the Economic and Social Research Institute described the move as a small but important step. He highlighted a stark disparity in foreign direct investment, with a 268,000 rise in FDI jobs in the Republic between 2015 and 2021 compared to just 7,000 in Northern Ireland. An all-island approach, he said, could help close the productivity gap.

Economist Paul Gosling welcomed what he called a U-turn on a previous policy of non-cooperation. He argued that both agencies had failed the north-west region, which suffers from weak economies in Derry, parts of Tyrone and Donegal. His 2024 report for the Holywell Trust noted that Invest NI does not systematically include the Donegal skills base in its investment pitches.

Mr Gosling said the Good Friday Agreement should have included cross-border investment promotion and suggested a single economic agency for the island.

The Taoiseach’s comments mark the first time the Irish government has explicitly directed the IDA to operate on a shared island footing, signalling a policy shift that could have long-term implications for Northern Ireland’s economic development.