New offers from the State for the purchase of properties on Great Blasket Island have been issued to owners.
A spokesman for the Office of Public Works (OPW) yesterday said it was confident of reaching agreement before Christmas on a contract of sale for the majority of private holdings on the island.
Great Blasket Island was home to writers Peig Sayers, Tomás Ó Criomhthain and Muiris Ó Súilleabháin.
The revised contract of sale has been sent to An Blascaod Mór Teo, the company that owns 17 of the 25 holdings on the island, and to a small number of other property owners who expressed reservations about the terms of the initial contract sent out earlier this year.
The revised offers are to be issued to all landowners on the island.
It includes an increase in the offer of €68,000 to €90,000 per holding. OPW spokesman George Moir said there was also "a new form of words" on the draft contract.
There is also an increase in the offer to An Blascaod Mór Teo for its ferry landing rights. During the summer, An Blascaod Mór Teo, which operates the Peig Sayers ferry out of Dingle, employed bouncers on the island preventing passengers from a rival ferry operator from visiting Great Blasket, claiming they were trespassing.
Legal advice to Kerry County Council confirmed the company's claim that there were no public rights of way on Great Blasket.
Under a long-term management plan for the island, drawn up by Kerry County Council under instruction from the then minister for heritage Síle de Valera, the OPW plans to conserve the writers' buildings, restrict visitor numbers, build new piers, conserve wildlife and apply for Unesco world heritage status.
However, these plans stalled after negotiations with An Blascaod Mór Teo broke down during the summer.
Following agreement, it is expected the OPW will run a tender process for a ferry service to the island which will control visitor numbers.