Ireland has secured €35 million from the European Union's Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) to accelerate a suite of advanced digital infrastructure projects nationwide, the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O'Donovan TD, has announced. The funding will support secure, high‑performance backbone networks alongside 5G large‑scale pilots for transport corridors and Smart Communities.

CEF is the EU's flagship mechanism for strategic infrastructure investment designed to drive growth, employment and competitiveness across member states.

Welcoming the awards, Minister O'Donovan said: "I welcome the awarding of €35 million of CEF funding to these Irish digital infrastructure projects. These projects will strengthen our international links, support innovation, and ensure that communities and businesses across Ireland benefit from world-class digital infrastructure."

Among the beneficiaries is the Emerald Motorway Corridor (Dundalk – Rosslare Harbour), led by Vantage Towers Ireland, which will receive €3,539,820.50.

"With this award for the Emerald Motorway corridor, we are further advancing Ireland's digital transformation alongside our project partners Three Ireland and Wings.

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Together, we are creating an infrastructure that will enable a high speed 5G corridor from the Northern Ireland border to Ireland's European gateway at Rosslare Europort. As well as uninterrupted high speed data coverage, this corridor ensures that we will meet the country's automotive and logistic industry's future technology requirements." - Brian McHugh, Managing Director, Vantage Towers (Ireland).

Atlantic Technological University (ATU) has been awarded €12,281,625.00 for its 5G Scalable Hubs initiative, including a virtual digital lab to broaden access to training on campus and remotely, with particular benefits for rural learners and apprenticeships.

"This initiative will be transformative for our students, particularly those in rural communities. Atlantic Technological University's (ATU) virtual digital lab project has the potential to revolutionise the training of students, both on campus and through remote delivery to support apprenticeships, helping Ireland develop the skilled designers, engineers and trades needed to tackle our housing and infrastructure challenges. This project demonstrates ATU's ability to attract international industry partners and lead major EU-funded initiatives with the potential for real impactful gains for our communities." - Prof Graham Heaslip, Atlantic Technological University (ATU)

McMahon Design & Management Limited will receive €18,932,210.00 under the EU's 4th CEF‑Digital call for Phase 3 of the PISCES subsea cable system, advancing direct high‑capacity links between Ireland and mainland Europe. The system comprises a main trunk from Sines, Portugal to Galway, Ireland (2,131 km), a branching unit to Bilbao, Spain (840 km), and a reserving branching unit to Saint-Hilaire-de-Rez in France. The grant supports route development, engineering and preparatory works to bolster resilient trans‑European digital connectivity.

Minister O'Donovan also commended the Irish organisations involved, saying their success underscores Ireland's growing leadership in delivering innovative, high‑impact digital projects.