Photo: Inis Bó Finne. Retrieved from rte.ie
Excerpt from rte.ie
A new national policy on offshore islands has been launched by Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys.
Its key aim is to revitalise population levels on the islands which have seen a decline in population since 1996 of almost 13%, from 3,145 to 2,740.
The 23 islands from Donegal to Cork also have a higher-than-average age profile with 20% of islanders aged over 65 compared to an average of 12% nationally.
A lack of employment, housing and limited access to public and social services has inhibited population growth on the islands and the new policy aims to tackle these and other issues to create conditions which would encourage young people to live, work and raise families on the islands.
