Government departments must include ideas on enhanced North-South co-operation in proposals for the next National Development Plan, the Minister for Foreign Affairs has announced.
Dermot Ahern told yesterday's All-Ireland Infrastructure Conference in Co Louth that the all-island dimension would be a main strategic theme of the plan, due to run from 2007-13.
Northern Ireland Office Minister Lord Jeff Rooker told the same conference that cross-Border co-operation was essential to infrastructure investment projects.
"€100 billion of investment is planned over the next 10 years in the island by both governments," he said.
"But we must ensure this underpins our economic and social development on a sustainable basis. We face many similar challenges in both parts of the island and co-operation is vital to ensure the improvements required."
Lord Rooker's comments reflect fresh enthusiasm at the Northern Ireland Office for cross-Border development under Northern Secretary Peter Hain.
In a significant speech at Stormont last week, Mr Hain announced both governments had ordered a "comprehensive review" of opportunities for tackling shared problems on an all-island basis.
The review will address research and development, skills and training, competitiveness, business development and - significantly - trade and investment promotion on an all-Ireland basis.
Last week's meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference in London agreed that "there is significant potential for further co-operation on a range of infrastructure and spatial planning issues".
Mr Ahern developed the theme yesterday, adding: "This co-operation could take place on different levels ranging from sharing of information to joint implementation of projects. Where joint planning and joint implementation would deliver strategic advantage and benefit then this is how we should do it."
The Irish Government was "very serious" about enhancing co-operation, he said.
"That is why our new National Development Plan, setting out a blueprint for investment for the seven-year period 2007 to 2013, will have a strong all-island dimension.
In preparing proposals for the new NDP, Government departments have been instructed to treat the all-island dimension as one of the main strategic horizontal themes of the plan."
Lord Rooker said the development of infrastructure was a necessary part of the process in building what he called "the right capacity".
"Already, co-operation is delivering a gas interconnector by the end of the year, to complement the existing electricity interconnector," he said.
Roads schemes, telecoms and broadband, environmental schemes and waste management were all being developed, he added.