The Irish government is offering up to $92,000 to homeowners willing to relocate to remote islands to boost the more than two dozen areas' population.
The remote islands in the Atlantic Ocean include Inis Mor, which is an island where a portion of the Oscar-nominated 2022 film "The Banshees of Inisherin" was filmed. It is also one of the Aran Islands that sit off the West coast of Ireland. The islands are considered popular tourist attractions due to their rugged landscapes and deep history.
Get Paid up to $92K To Relocate to Remote Irish Island
There are roughly 30 islands off the coast of Ireland, with permanent year-round residents cut off daily by the tide. The people there do not have a connection via a bridge or causeway to the mainland. The Irish government said in a plan released earlier this month that some islands have as few as two year-round residents.
In the last two decades, the population of these islands has dwindled, with fewer than 3,000 now spread across all of them. Despite their relative inaccessibility, the islands are crucial to the country's tourism, having more than 300,000 annual visitors, as per CBS News.
The government's plan noted an ongoing concern for national and international island communities to maintain the population levels. It added that island communities generally have a higher-than-average age profile due to many young adults leaving the islands behind for further education or employment opportunities elsewhere.
The plan is similar to Italy's plan to sell homes in small towns for one euro each to attract new residents. However, that endeavor was marred with complaints by homeowners who said they struggled with the high costs of renovating their new homes.
Ireland's plan includes an offer of up to $92,000 to homeowners willing to renovate a "derelict building" on one of the islands. Those who can fix up a vacant property can get up to nearly $67,000 for renovation, the government said on its website.
Taking Care of Tourist Attraction Islands
The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, was the one that unveiled the plan earlier this month, which will go live on July 1. The Irish government said that one of the objectives of the plan, known as the "Our Living Islands" program, is to boost the population levels of the islands, according to Fortune.
The Irish government called the offshore islands an integral part of the fabric of rural Ireland and has a special significance in Irish culture. For a person to be eligible for a grant, the money from which must be used to renovate the abandoned home, the properties must have been constructed before 1993 and left vacant for at least two years.
Humphreys said that due to delivering the new policy, Ireland would have more people living on the islands and more individuals working on them. There would be good career prospects, regardless of where a person is headquartered, said Business Insider.
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