Irish Transport Minister Eamon Ryan says that today's announcement is "timely and important" as it comes at the return of the Northern Ireland Executive and as the North-South Ministerial Council begins to meet.

Speaking about the A5, Mr Ryan says anyone who knows the road well knows it is not safe and urgently needs an upgrade.

Hourly train services between Belfast and Dublin will also "improve and strengthen" connectivity between the two cities, he says.

Finishing his speech, Mr Ryan says the funding is "scratching at the surface" and is just one of the ways to deepen the connections on the island.

Micheál Martin says the funding for Casement Park is a "major investment in the social fabric of a part of Belfast that has suffered from disadvantage over many years".

The stadium is located in the west of the city off the Andersonstown Road.

He goes on to say that the whole investment package from Dublin will send a "positive signal" to everyone in Northern Ireland that the Irish government has a commitment to delivering "better outcomes for everyone who lives there".

Image source, PA Media

Situated just off the M1 motorway in west Belfast sits Casement Park - the former home of Antrim GAA. It has lain derelict since 2013.

Public money was promised to the project in 2011 as part of a scheme to improve sporting facilities for GAA, rugby and soccer in Northern Ireland.

It was first earmarked for redevelopment over a decade ago, but has faced resident objections, planning permission issues and funding problems.

The stadium will be primarily used for GAA games but it is also due to host soccer matches in the Euro 2028 tournament.

On Monday, clearance work began on the site of the proposed 34,500-capacity stadium.

• Read more: Casement Park and the long road to Euro 2028

Leo Varadkar announces €50m is being allocated to the redevelopment of Casement Park and says sport has the power to bring people together.

It will help realise a long-planned sports project and will “maximise the benefit for Northern Ireland” of the Euro28 football championships.

“It is our wish that the ground should be made available for a wide range of sporting and cultural events”.

Tanáiste Micheál Martin hails the funding announcement as "a special and important moment"

"Iconic and strategically important projects that have been talked about for decades have either been given the go-ahead to start building or been given significant funding commitments to allow them to move forward with the help of partners, as in the vase of the A5 upgrade," the Fianna Fáil leader says.

He adds he is particularly pleased to give the go-ahead to the Narrow Water Bridge project.

The taoiseach says the upgrade of the A5 will begin later this year.

“We are confirming the contribution now,” he says.

The upgrade, Mr Varadkar says, will “bring connectivity between north and south in line with the rest of the island".

Leo Varadkar begins by saying the Irish government is today announcing the “largest ever package” for cross-border initiatives.

The funding – more than €800m - he adds, will make the island of Ireland a better place to live for all to call it home”.

“The commitments we’ve made today are about potential for cross-border communities.

“It’s about understanding that whatever [the] constitutional future of Ireland and Northern Ireland as a whole may be, investing in people and infrastructure, quality of life, in opportunity for generations to come are all our shared and common good that we can all achieve by coming together,” he says.

The Irish government has announced funding commitments of over €800m for Shared Island projects.

These include:

• €600m to the A5 North-West transport corridor
• €50m to a redeveloped Casement Park in Belfast to create a high-quality sports stadium which can also host matches as part of the Euro2028 tournament
• Funding for Narrow Water Bridge connecting the Cooley Peninsula in County Louth to County Down
• €12.5m for a new hourly-frequency rail service between Belfast and Dublin
• €10m in a renewed visitor experience at the Battle of the Boyne site due to reflect its unique historic significance to communities north and south
• Working with the Astronomical Observatories of Ireland on how the heritage and tourism value of its three sites at Dunsink, Armagh, and Birr can be harnessed
• Developing pilot cooperation schemes by enterprise agencies (up to €30m) and on education (up to €24m)

The taoiseach is coming to the microphone to speak to the media

Image source, PA Media

Niall McKenna, chairman of the Enough is Enough A5 safety group, said the group was "extremely confident" upgrade work on the road was going to happen.

"We can see everything moving in the right direction and we are very confident it's going to happen this time.

"So many have been affected by death on this road [A5] - this road is quite literally killing our members and we have a duty of care to see that end."

Mr McKenna, who set up the group after the death of his friend John Rafferty in 2020, said there had been a "sea change" in attitude.

He added: "The general public are not prepared to accept the non-delivery of it [A5] anymore."

“The loss of a life cannot be compensated for. From our point of view any issues need to be put into perspective - the loss of life and the right to life trumps any other rights.”

The proposed A5 dual carriageway has faced opposition since it was first announced - this opposition has come from farmers, landowners and others with an interest in the County Tyrone area.

Hamilton Hazzard has been a farmer in Omagh for more than 30 years and is opposed to the A5 road plan.

“I’m probably going to lose 13% of my acreage off my farm – that’s not the whole reason why I object to it – the existing road should have been improved years ago and we’ve constantly advocated for its improvement," he said.

"We are certainly against the proposed scheme, we’re not against improvement of the road in fact we’re for the improvement of the road.

“The road should have been improved with plenty of passing options, straighten it where it’s appropriate and laybys and you could have had an excellent road without the need to sacrifice 3,000 acres of prime agricultural quality land.”

Image source, Getty Images

The major upgrade of the A5 was first given the go ahead in 2007 - but it’s been delayed due to a number of legal challenges.

The Irish government had pledged £400m before the financial crash of 2011 but then that offer was reduced - today the original offer is expected to be restored.

The Department for Infrastructure says the new dual carriageway would improve road safety, reduce journey times and increase economic competitiveness.

But the Alternative A5 Alliance - a group formed in 2009 by farmers and residents to oppose the scheme – says improvements to the existing carriageway would bring the same benefits at a reduced cost.

It’s argued that bypasses around Strabane and Omagh and increasing the number of overtaking lanes would have less impact on the environment and the livelihoods of people along the route.

More than 50 people have been killed on the road since 2006.

In one year alone, between October 2021 and October 2022, 10 people died along the A5, according to official figures.

That compares with 15 fatalities in the five-year period between 2015 and 2019.

In the outline business case for the proposed dual carriageway, the Department for Infrastructure said the increase "points to a rising accident trend".

Last April, three people died in one crash near Aughnacloy. The A5 has been dubbed "the most dangerous road in Ireland".

The above map shows the proposed route of the new road.

• Read more:What is happening in the long-running A5 saga?

The A5 Western Transport Corridor (A5WTC) proposal would provide 85 kilometres (53 miles) of dual carriageway from south of Londonderry at Newbuildings to the border at Aughnacloy.

The proposed scheme has been split into phases:

• Phase 1A would see the construction of an 8.9-mile dual carriageway from Newbuildings to north of Strabane
• Phase 1B phase plans consist of 13.3 miles of dual carriageway from south of Omagh to Ballygawley
• Phase 2 would stretch from north of Strabane to south of Omagh
• Phase 3 would see construction from Ballygawley to the border near Aughnacloy

If completed, the major upgrade would be the largest road ever built in Northern Ireland, with an estimated cost of about £1.6bn.

The A5 is a 58-mile (94km) road linking Londonderry with the main road to Dublin at Aughnacloy on the border.

The road is considered one of the most dangerous on the island of Ireland, claiming more than 50 lives since 2006.

Despite first being announced about 16 years ago, work has not yet started on the proposed dual carriageway upgrade. It has been beset by numerous delays.

Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar, along with his partners in government, Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) Micheál Martin and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan are expected to address the media at lunchtime.

It is anticipated that the funding announcements will include some updates on already announced projects, as well as new funding in education and infrastructure, including the Narrow Water Bridge Project.

The BBC confirmed on Monday that the A5 road from Dublin to Londonderry would have the full funding once promised, now restored in its entirety.

The Irish government is set to announce substantial new funding for cross-border projects.

The cabinet in Dublin is meeting to approve the plans, which will include the restoration of £400m for the A5 road between Londonderry and Dublin.

Highly-anticipated funding for Casement Park in west Belfast is also set to be announced, thought to be in the tens of millions.

Stay with us as we bring you live coverage of the announcement. Click on the play button at the top of this stream at 11:45.