Dubliners on housing list may be offered grant to relocate to rural Ireland
A Dublin City Councillor believes people on the social housing list for the capital city would be willing to move elsewhere in the country if there are affordable services such as childcare available.
"There was a system in place where effectively if somebody chose to move from Dublin down the country they would receive a small amount of financial assistance from the Government.
"That was suspended some time ago, and the motion that was passed effectively asks for that to be restarted," Cllr Éilis Ryan told Newstalk Breakfast.
Her comments come after Dublin City Council recently voted in favour of reintroducing the Rural Resettlement Programme in a bid to tackle the homelessness crisis.
The scheme was suspended in 2012 but previously helped 800 families move outside of Dublin.
"What we are suggesting is that we need more urban centres - places like Sligo, Letterkenny, Clifden for example. They're areas where there's already a settlement of people, and already a lot of infrastructure," added Cllr Ryan.
Last year, the Government announced a pilot scheme aimed at developing "innovative proposals" to encourage more people to live in rural towns and villages.
As part of the scheme, six towns will receive funding of up to €100,000 to "engage with their communities and local businesses" to figure out "practical solutions".
