Young people on the Aran Islands and Inishbofin who want to build their lives at home are struggling to find anywhere to live, and Connemara’s councillors want the Government to step in before more of them are forced to leave.
A motion calling for extra housing supports for island communities was backed at County Hall in Galway this week, Galway Bay FM reported on Wednesday 28 October. It covers Inis Mór, Inis Meáin and Inis Oírr in Galway Bay, and Inishbofin off the north-west Connemara coast.
Young islanders squeezed out
The motion was brought by Fine Gael councillor Eileen Mannion. She told Galway Bay FM that young people, and others who want to stay on the islands, are finding it very difficult to secure housing. She said the same problem faces locals who have moved away and now want to come back.
The council’s Islands Committee wants the housing difficulties on the four islands formally recognised and dealt with. Its priorities include affordable housing, better planning, and the infrastructure needed to support Irish-speaking communities, according to the report. The Aran Islands lie within the Galway Gaeltacht, so the housing question is closely tied to the survival of Irish as a community language there.
Mannion said the islands must remain sustainable, warning that “we need to ensure that the islands continue to be sustainable”. She called for supports under the Government’s islands action plan to improve the availability of housing for local people.
What the motion asks for
The motion, which was supported by councillors, asks for a letter to be sent to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. That letter will ask the Department to consider extra supports for what the Government calls the “Living Islands”, Galway Bay FM reported.
The phrase is a reference to Our Living Islands, the national islands policy launched in June 2023. At the time, the Government described it as a ten-year policy, with a first action plan running from 2023 to 2026 containing 80 time-bound actions, according to its press release. That first action plan reaches the end of its period this year, which gives the councillors’ call added timing.
When the policy was launched, the Government said grant ceilings for doing up vacant and derelict homes on offshore islands would be set 20% higher than on the mainland, with up to €60,000 for a vacant property and up to €84,000 for a derelict one under the Croí Cónaithe scheme. It also promised that vacant homes officers would identify empty and derelict properties on the islands, and that revised rural housing planning guidelines would address the particular challenges facing islands.
Why island housing is so hard
Building or renovating on an island brings costs and headaches that mainland homeowners rarely face, from shipping materials across by ferry to finding tradespeople willing to travel and stay.
For small communities, the loss of even a handful of young families can affect whether a school, shop or GAA team stays viable. That is why island representatives tend to frame housing as an existential issue rather than simply a planning one.
What happens next
The next step is the letter to the Department of Housing. It is then up to the Minister and officials to decide whether any additional supports, such as higher grants, dedicated island housing schemes or planning changes, are made available.
With the first Our Living Islands action plan due to run its course in 2026, islanders will be watching closely for what replaces it, and whether housing gets a bigger share of attention in the next phase. Connemara Journal will report any response from the Department.
Sources
- Galway Bay FM: Cllrs put pressure on Government to introduce extra housing supports for island communities (28 October 2026)
- Gov.ie: Our Living Islands: Minister Humphreys launches National Islands Policy and Action Plan (7 June 2023)
- Galway Bay FM: Fine Gael’s Padraig Mac An Iomaire new Cathaoirleach of Connemara Municipal District (8 June 2026)
Featured image: Aran Islands – White painted house on Inishmore, Co. Galway (2014) by JoachimKohler-HB, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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