Census data shows many in Co Mayo town have embraced greener travel

Fifteen per cent of people in one Co Monaghan area said they have no internet access at home

Data from the 2022 census can be used to compare different local electorate areas around the country. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
Data from the 2022 census can be used to compare different local electorate areas around the country. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

The car is the main mode of commute for Westport residents but the local area census data shows many in the Co Mayo town have embraced greener travel.

Some 1,350 people living in the electoral area travel to work or school on foot, 995 go by bus, 187 hop on a bike and 47 take the train.

Just over 1,000 of the 13,500 who answered the census question said they now work mainly from home.

The story is not too dissimilar in the border area of Ballybay-Clones, in Co Monaghan, where 1,000 of 13,000 respondents walk to work or school, 1,500 take the bus and 23 travel by train.

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There are just 32 commuters who cycle, while 720 work predominantly at home.

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While similar shares of the populations said they have broadband (75 per cent in Westport and 76.5 per cent in Ballybay-Clones), a larger proportion of residents in the Co Monaghan area had no coverage.

Fifteen per cent of people said they have no internet access compared with 11 per cent in Westport. Other census respondents did not state an answer or ticked “other”.

The April 2022 census also asked people whether they lived at their address one year previously. Westport saw a greater influx of new inhabitants, with 705 individuals arriving from elsewhere in the county, 287 from other parts of Ireland and 326 from outside the country.

CSO
Westport saw a greater influx of new inhabitants than Ballybay-Clones

In Ballybay-Clones, there were 372 Co Monaghan residents moving to the area, 160 who came from other counties and 169 who previously lived abroad.

There are 9,421 men living in the area, making up more than half of the total population of 18,421. They outnumber female residents for most age groups, overtaken only by women aged 30-34, 40-44 and those aged 80 and over.

Westport’s 9,667 men are in the minority among its population of 19,947. Females are the larger share for every age group, except for children aged five to 19.

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Ellen O'Riordan

Ellen O'Riordan

Ellen O'Riordan is High Court Reporter with The Irish Times