The State will advance a bid to host a summit involving the leaders of 47 European countries during the Irish presidency of the European Union in the second half of 2026.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris will ask for agreement at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting for the State to host the summit of the European Political Community (EPC).
The EPC was established after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and provides a forum for political and strategic discussions about Europe’s future.
Its membership takes in the 27 members of the EU and a further 20 heads of state, taking in most states in the Continent. If approved, it will be the largest such international summit ever held in the Republic.
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It is expected to take place in Dublin about the same time as the information meeting of the European Council involving the 27 EU heads of state.
Mr Harris will brief Ministers that extensive planning is under way for the Republic to hold the EU presidency from July to December 2026. It will be the eighth time the State has held the presidency and the first time since 2013.
It’s also expected that the final report of the investigation into “project eagle” – the sale of the National Asset Management Agency’s Northern Ireland property loans to a US investor in 2014 – will be considered by the Cabinet. The report has already been delayed more than 20 times.
The commission of investigation was established in 2017 and there have already been several inquiries into the sale, including one in Northern Ireland which has led to charges being brought against two men involved in the sale, Frank Cushnahan and Ian Coulter.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin and the Tánaiste will also seek Cabinet approval for allocating €57 million of the Shared Island Fund to various projects.
Specific projects include a geopark at Cuilcagh Lakelands straddling counties Cavan and Fermanagh which will develop a new trail network to link existing routes North and South of the Border.
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A further project in Carlingford Lough will develop new trails and water access points around the development of the Narrow Water Bridge. More than 73km of connected cross-Border trails will be developed at Sliabh Beach, which links Monaghan, Fermanagh and Tyrone.
Separately, Minister for Housing James Browne will brief colleagues that there has been a significant uptick in grant drawdowns for the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant under the Croí Cónaithe Towns Fund until the end of 2024.
The number of grant drawdowns rose from 100 at the end of 2023 to 1,349 at the end of 2024, he will tell Cabinet colleagues.
This grant was introduced in the summer of 2022 to help bring derelict properties back to life as affordable homes.
There have been more than 11,300 applications received for the scheme, 7,700 of which have been approved.
Donegal County Council has the highest number at 1,042 applications, closely followed by Cork County Council at 970 applications, then Mayo with 673.
Meanwhile, Mr Martin held a meeting of senior Ministers on Monday to improve the provision and breadth of disability services in the State. The initiative will be spearheaded by a new disability unit within his department.
Some of the issues raised at the meeting are understood to be waiting lists for assessment of needs, as well as excessive bureaucracy around recruiting and registering therapists from places like the United Kingdom.
