The Office of Public Works has extended the expiry date for landowners to respond to offers from the State to buy the Great Blasket Island.
Last Friday was to have been the closing date but that has now been extended for a fortnight, "in the interests of securing the future of the Great Blasket Island heritage for posterity commissioners wrote to the seven property owners last Thursday.
The OPW has also made it clear the implementation of the management plan, which will conserve the writers' buildings, restrict visitor numbers, build new piers and apply for UNESCO world heritage status, does not depend on all landowners selling their properties. It can implement the management plan of the island even if some property owners decide not to sell.
However, the plan "may no longer be feasible" should An Blascaod Mor Teo (BMT), the majority landowner, decides not to sell, it said.
Some €68,000 per holding has been offered.
A particular sticking point has been An Blascaod Mor Teo's insistence on operating the sole ferry from Dingle to the island (alongside the traditional crossing from Dún Chaoin). BMT owns 17 of the 25 holdings and stands to make well over €1 million from the land deal. The company is also being allowed to keep five houses as well as a site for the development of a cafe and services.
It is understood the OPW has offered €350,000, inclusive of value added tax, to BMT for the future landing rights.
However, recently, Peter Callery, director and secretary of BMT, said the company would want "acceptable compensation". It had previously been offered up to €950,000 for the rights.
In the letter sent to landowners, the OPW said there was "no basis whatsoever" in the allegation recently that the management plan for the Blasket, agreed over a number of years, had been abandoned. The offer price had been agreed during negotiation, the letter underlined.
"The only notable change in the situation relates to the proposal in the management plan whereby BMT would be the sole operator of a ferry service from Dingle to the island. As this is not feasible under competition rules, an offer has been made to BMT to buy out the existing commercial ferry rights currently operated by that company so that the entire ferry service can be tendered as part of the implementation of the rest of the management plan," the letter said.