Taoiseach to announce €7.6 million initiative to link Wild Atlantic Way to Northern Ireland Causeway Coastal Route

Taoiseach Simon Harris is set to visit Derry for the first time as Taoiseach for a series of engagements with political, civic society and community leaders.

During his visit, Harris will announce the allocation of €7.6 million from the Shared Island fund for an initiative to link the Wild Atlantic Way that runs from Kinsale in County Cork to Donegal's Inishowen Peninsula to the Causeway Coastal Route which runs from Derry to Belfast.

He will also visit the site of a new teaching and student services building being constructed at the University of Ulster’s Derry campus through this Shared Island funding. While at the university, Harris will also deliver the annual John Hume and Thomas P. O’Neill Chair Lecture.

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First on his list of duties will be a meeting with the SDLP's Lillian Seenoi-Barr at the Guildhall. In June, Seenoi-Barr became the first black mayor of a council in Northern Ireland.

Ahead of his trip, Harris emphasised the importance of cross-border communication and collaboration.

The Taoiseach said: "I am looking forward to my first official visit to Derry to see and support the very positive North-South cooperation in the North-West region, and to engage with key stakeholders with a view to further strengthening collaboration."