Living on an Island can be paradise but sometimes the day to day practicalities of health care, housing transport etc intrude.
Excellent article here at ‘NOTEWORTHY’ looks at a series of Irish islands. From Arranmore off Donegal, via Clare Island off Mayo to Bere Island in Bantry bay. Bound to say that well over fifty years of travels to Ireland I’ve gazed at them all and thought: “that looks idyllic!”!
“Lack of housing on offshore islands is an EU-wide problem. This is all too true in Ireland, according to Rhoda Twombly, secretary of Comhdhail Oileain na hEireann or the Irish Islands Federation, a representative group for the offshore inhabited islands.
“Unlike issues specific to individual islands, the threat of population decline directly linked to the housing shortage sprung up across all islands consulted by the Federation for its submission on the State’s new proposed islands policy. “The number one challenge is housing because if you don’t have housing, you can’t attract people,” Twombly said.
“Building on the work of the Federation, researchers at University College Cork (UCC) are currently conducting a national survey to determine the level of housing needs on offshore islands. “ (NOTEWORTHY – HOISING CONSTRAINTS.. 30th January 2023):
Full link:
https://www.noteworthy.ie/island-nation-2-housing-5976606-Jan2023/
Image: Bere Island resident Ali Curry – see video with main article.
Bernard Moffatt
AGS Celtic League (Ist February 2023)
