UNSIGNED PREVIEW — not a promoted public release.
Actor: Government of Ireland
insufficient_evidenceTopic: education
Office: Programme for Government 2025
Evidence: 9 events
Sources: 9
This promise by Government of Ireland has INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE for a rating. Only 9 evidence events were found. More research is needed before a reliable assessment can be made.
This promise is SPECIFIC (vagueness score: 20/100). It includes measurable targets or deadlines that make it trackable. Specific promises are easier to verify as kept or broken.
Issue category: education
The Programme for Government agreed in January 2025 by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael commits a further €1 billion to the Shared Island Fund, extending it to 2035.
The Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice criticizes the Thornton Hall project, questioning whether a 'super-prison' with 1,500 inmates is the right approach, and calling it 'a bad idea that refuses to die.'
The Irish News reported that the newly formed Irish government (Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael coalition) will increase funding for the Shared Island Fund by a further €1 billion up to 2035.
Agenda NI reported that on 10 April 2025, the Taoiseach announced €1 billion in new funding between 2025 and 2035, confirming the coalition's commitment.
Work is set to begin on a new jail at Thornton Hall in Dublin as part of a €400 million project to tackle record overcrowding. A master plan for the Thornton site will be developed in 2026.
Plans for Thornton Hall also include co-locating permanent asylum seeker accommodation on the site alongside the prison, expanding the scope beyond the original prison-only plan.
A master plan for the Thornton site will be developed in 2026, determining its future use as a combined site for the Irish Prison Service and International Protection purposes. Construction is expected to start within approximately three years.
In November 2025, the Taoiseach and Tánaiste announced over €50 million in allocations from the Shared Island Fund for 10 new programmes to be delivered over 2026-2030, demonstrating the fund is being actively spent.
No construction has begun at Thornton Hall as of early 2026. The site, purchased in 2005, has faced decades of delays and remains in the planning/master plan phase.
Cut the pupil-teacher ratio to 19:1 in primary schools over the lifetime of the government