Sallins residents took part in international survey on commuting

A new research report outlines the impact of, and behaviours and attitudes towards, workplace commuting of more than 1,000 people living in small rural communities across Ireland, Northern Ireland and the State of Maryland, United States, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The manifestations of long-distance commuting for people living in towns and villages that are between 30km and 60km from the major metropolitan centres are assessed in the research report.  Seven towns were identified across the island of Ireland, and two in the State of Maryland. 102 people from Sallins participated in the research study.

The International Centre for Local and Regional Development (ICLRD) conducted the InPLACE - Investigating Planning, Placemaking and Commuting research during the unique historical backdrop of COVID-19, in two phases, June 2021 to September 2022 and October 2022 to December 2023. Commuters, community leaders and local stakeholders contributed, with local authority planners and policy experts informing the findings and policy implications.

Key findings:

• 45% commute distances of 30 km or more, one-way.
• 47% have one-way commutes of greater than 45 minutes duration - more than twice the percentage of long-duration commuters recorded for Ireland in the 2022 Census.

• 25% frequently experience difficulties fulfilling family responsibilities as a result of time spent commuting. This figure was higher for commuters travelling longer distances.
• In autumn 2022, 38% of respondents were continuing to work remotely to some degree, as compared to 33% in Ireland as a whole as recorded by the census in early April.
• Only 12% of respondents used public transport.
• Feeling safe, the natural environment, sense of community and community engagement were ranked as the highest rated attributes that people associated with their towns in Ireland. Parking, facilities and amenities - all linked either directly or indirectly to commuting - were ranked the least satisfactory.
• Unsurprisingly, across geographic areas, the flexibility created through agile working during the pandemic is resulting in people with longer commutes choosing to travel into work less frequently.
• Almost one-quarter of the Ireland and Northern Ireland respondents moved to their current place of residence within the previous five years, with the primary motivating factor being housing affordability, followed by family considerations. This contrasts with the US experience, where quality of schools was the primary reason for movement, with one-in-three having moved to the towns the previous five years.

Commenting on the research study findings, Professor Des McCafferty, Professor Emeritus at the Department of Geography, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, part of the ICLRD research team said: “The aim of the InPLACE study was to examine the impacts of pre-and post-COVID-19 commuting on people and place by examining its effects on home, community and workplace in nine rural villages with shared characteristics on the island of Ireland and in the US. Commuting has grown rapidly in recent years, partly driven by the effects of house prices ‘pushing’ workers to live further from their places of work, but also as a result of the ‘pull’ of rural settlements that offer commuters a range of benefits, including proximity to familial and other social networks.

“Our research has demonstrated that commuting has undergone major changes in recent times and is now a much more varied and diverse phenomenon, impacting housing, transport, local economic development, place-making and community development, and local and spatial planning. Addressing this multifaceted issue requires a comprehensive, collaborative and integrated policy approach. This will require co-ordinated action across multiple policy sectors and multiple agencies and government departments, as well as local authorities.”

The selected communities where the research took place were:

• Ennistymon-Lahinch, Co. Clare
• Kanturk-Banteer, Co. Cork
• Mountbellew-Moylough, Co. Galway
• Newtownmountkennedy, Co. Wicklow
• Sallins, Co. Kildare;
• Aghagallon, Co. Antrim;
• Dundrum Co. Down;
• Middletown, Frederick County; and
• North Beach, Calvert County, Maryland, USA.

The InPLACE - Investigating Planning, Placemaking and Commuting research study can be downloaded here.