This article is in partnership with Day Translations.

For a while it was headline news everywhere: “Ireland is paying people to move to its islands”!

As with many news stories, you need to dig deeper beyond the headline to learn about what is really happening.

First things first: the news about Ireland supposedly paying people to move to one of its remote islands started spreading back in 2023, with international media coverage that included Forbes and Sky News. According to these sources, the Irish government was paying $92,000 or £72,000 to pack your bags and start a new life in an Irish island.

After this news broke out, the Irish government had to issue a statement explaining how the scheme worked in order to avoid confusion and misunderstanding.

More recently, news about this scheme reappeared in headlines, possibly because it was a slow news day. For example, this article from Islands picked up on the remote islands scheme in 2025. Announcing you would get paid to go on holiday to Ireland, the headline is puzzling to say the least.

Permanent vacation? If the thought of refurbishing an abandoned and derelict building to make it your home sounds like an easy and relaxing activity, then maybe this project is for you!

The sales pitch to move to a remote Irish island is that you could finally enjoy some peace and quiet after escaping the fast pace of life of modern cities. The article fails to mention that living in a remote island is only for the brave, as it takes a lot of resilience and determination to simply complete normal tasks when you are cut off from the mainland. This also includes arranging for builders and repair people to come over to your property.

The wording in the article is misleading, saying that the Irish government will hand you anywhere between €50,000 and €84,000” to move to one of 23 allocated remote islands and selected derelict properties within Ireland that are part of the scheme. This implies that you simply turn up and you magically receive thousands of euros without practically lifting a finger.

Although the article then goes on to explain the scheme from the Irish government called the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, the average reader may already have stopped reading after the first paragraph.

The grant allows people to get expenses reimbursed after completing the refurbishment of empty properties, which are inhabitable because they are derelict. Therefore, these properties require a significant financial investment upfront that buyers have to commit to before receiving the government grant.

What the Irish Government Said

The Irish government had to give further details about the relocation scheme under the Our Living Islands 10 year policy because of the way it had been written about in the media.

As of April 2025, only 29 people have applied for the grant to renovate vacant derelict properties in remote islands. Some of these islands have only a handful of inhabitants and the scheme aimed at not only redeveloping these areas but also to breathe new life into them by rebuilding local communities. This involves a lot of personal involvement from those wishing to relocate, as the Irish government is adamant that it does not want to incentivise holiday home buyers who then see their properties as rental investments. In fact, the policy clearly states that the refurbished property must be the primary residence of the homeowner.

Photo by Jean Vella on Unsplash