NICOLA Sturgeon has said she is not ruling out the idea of a bridge between Northern Ireland and Scotland.
The First Minister said there are obstacles in the way, but added it could be a positive way of strengthening the relationship between the nations.
The idea of a bridge connecting Northern Ireland and Scotland has been promoted by the DUP.
During a visit to Dublin, Sturgeon said: "We will always talk about how we can strengthen relations, we need to have practical and achievable ideas.
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"I have representations made to me about the idea of a bridge, there are obviously a lot of challenges and things to be discussed there.
"Whether it's around a bridge or in other ways strengthening the relationship between Scotland, the north of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is a big priority for my government."
DUP leader Arlene Foster (pictured below) and MP Sammy Wilson have both expressed their support for the building of a bridge to Scotland.
And Conservative Party leadership contender Boris Johnson also spoke in favour of a bridge in September.
Last year, architect Professor Alan Dunlop proposed two options for the bridge which could connect either Larne and Portpatrick or Mull of Kintyre with Torr Head, and estimated the cost to be between £15 billion and £20bn.
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