Shared Island Media Fund

About the fund

On 18 November 2025, the Government announced over €50 million in new Shared Island Fund investments, including €14 million to Coimisiún na Meán to take forward a new Shared Island media programme from 2026-2029. We are Ireland’s independent media regulator, whose remit includes supporting and developing the Irish media sector.

Through a multi‑year programme of supports, the Shared Island Media Fund will seek to stimulate the creation of new content, strengthen talent and enable collaboration across media across the island of Ireland. In delivering this work, we are committed to engaging in a way that reflects the diverse identities, traditions and professional contexts across the island, supporting respectful and inclusive collaboration North and South.

Objectives

To build a media landscape that reflects the island of Ireland – our experiences, diverse and shared cultures and contemporary realities, while deepening understanding and strengthening connections to help shape a shared future.

Through the Shared Island Media Fund, we aim to:

• Strengthen cooperation and understanding across the island,
• Deepen cultural and creative exchange, and
• Reflect the experiences and diverse and shared heritages of communities across the island.

We will do this by:

• Advancing the creation of broadcast content that enhances understanding, explores shared heritage and showcases diverse and inclusive English and Irish language stories that connect communities across the island and our diaspora.
• Supporting the growth of innovative ideas and the nurturing of new talent within the media sectors, ensuring that emerging creators and media professionals on the island of Ireland have opportunities to collaborate.
• Supporting cross-border journalism to ensure that people in both jurisdictions have a deeper understanding of events across the island and their significance, not only during times of crisis, but as part of everyday public life.
• Championing initiatives that strengthen networks, promote cross-border collaboration and cultural exchange, and bring people together to spark creativity, drive innovation, and build the supports needed for high-quality content creation, from training and sustainability, to equality, gender, diversity and inclusion.

These outcomes align with our commitment to a sustainable, diverse and participative media landscape that represents the breadth of communities on the island.

Delivery and activity

Sound & Vision: Shared Island Shared Stories

Through three stand‑alone funding rounds over 2026–2028, we will support television and radio programming that promotes cultural exchange, shared heritage and cross‑border collaboration. The first round will open in 2026 on the 21st May. More information will be made available on this page in due course. This could be achieved through both the stories told and the nature of the production. Productions will be encouraged to submit applications which have a cross-border or all-island impact, bringing together creatives, producers and broadcasters from across the island.

We are looking for funded productions that will bring the objectives of the Shared Island Media Fund to life, telling stories that promote cultural exchange, celebrate both our shared and diverse heritages, and foster deeper cooperation and mutual understanding between communities across the island.

Where appropriate, productions may draw on themes and strands from the Shared Home Place programme, which invites people across the island – and beyond – to explore, through a heritage and culture lens, the question: What does a Shared Home Place mean to you – past, present, and future?

Shared Island Stories & Experiences: Content Development Fund

We will support the development of new creative ideas and emerging talent through a dedicated ‘Shared Island Stories & Experiences’ initiative, modelled on successful talent partnerships such as Cine4. This strand will help new voices develop concepts and short‑form works that reflect shared experiences, culture and heritage. This strand will also provide scope to engage with the Government’s Shared Home Place programme, encouraging projects that engage with the themes of exploring, connecting and sharing the diverse traditions and experiences that shape life across the island. More information will be available at the end of 2026.

Shared Island Journalism Funding Scheme

We will develop a multi‑year initiative to support professional cross‑border reporting. Beginning with research and consultation in 2026, the scheme will expand to support sustainable journalism across print, broadcast and digital platforms, with a focus on young journalists and new entrants to the sector. The first funding round will open in 2026, with further rounds expected in 2027 and 2028.

The initiative will place a strong emphasis on journalism that supports shared understanding across the island as part of everyday public life, and not only in moments of crisis. We want to ensure that reporting consistently reflects the experiences, perspectives and concerns of communities North and South, helping audiences to better understand a broad range of issues shaping life across the island.

Shared Island Media Fora

We will establish a series of Shared Island Media Fora events designed to deepen understanding of the media landscape across the island of Ireland, build professional networks, and spark new ideas for collaboration. These events will also inform the development of future funding initiatives by identifying opportunities, challenges and areas where cooperation can grow.

How we will work

We will work with partners across the island to identify needs, foster collaboration and ensure funding approaches are responsive, transparent and aligned with Government commitments. Our initiatives will complement existing schemes while introducing new strands designed specifically to strengthen cross‑border cooperation and creative exchange. New funding schemes will operate on the basis of open, competitive funding rounds and use of independent assessment, as appropriate, in line with the well-established arrangements in place for all funding schemes undertaken by us.

We will take a considerate and inclusive approach to cross-border engagement, recognising the importance of working in ways that support strong relationships across all parts of the island. Our work will also draw on consultation, research and ongoing stakeholder engagement to shape priorities and ensure the Shared Island Media Fund delivers long‑term value to the media sector and to audiences across the island.

The Fund recognises the importance of the island’s linguistic diversity and the opportunities it creates for cultural exchange. We encourage projects that reflect and engage with the island’s linguistic heritage in inclusive and creative ways. Certain initiatives may include Irish‑language content requirements. For example, for the Shared Island Shared Stories, at least 25% of funding will be allocated to programming in the Irish language, in keeping with the Sound & Vision Scheme.

Conclusion

Through the Shared Island Media Fund, we will help foster a more sustainable, connected, collaborative and creative media landscape across the island. By supporting cross‑border journalism, investing in new talent and ideas, and enabling diverse stories to be told and shared, we aim to deepen mutual understanding and contribute to a shared future for all communities.

Queries relating to the Shared Island Media Fund can be sent to [email protected].