A national policy called ‘Our Living Islands’ is planned to be in place for ten years and is a way of boosting the population on the number of remote islands Ireland has.

The sizeable grants, however, can only be obtained by those who are prepared to buy a structure that was built before 1993 and has been abandoned for at least two years. The money may only be used for building projects, such as installing insulation, making structural changes, and redecorating.

Minister of Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys said: “'I'm delighted to launch 'Our Living Islands', which is our new ten-year National Islands Policy and our first in 27 years.”

The application process opens up on July 1st 2023.