Connectivity and Access to the Western Region

Transport infrastructure

The WDC has always emphasised the need for improvements in road, rail and air infrastructure in the Western Region. These will enable the region to compete for, and retain, foreign investment, and to develop indigenous businesses and tourism.

Air

Shannon Airport and Ireland West Airport at Knock – the two international airports within the Western Region – are vital service providers and act as key stimuli for further development in the region. The WDC continually emphasises their importance, through submissions, meetings with policy-makers, participation and engagement with local interests.

Rail

The WDC also advocates better rail services for the region by highlighting service demand and the need to improve sustainable transport options. The WDC was represented on the Expert Working Group for the Western Rail Corridor established by the Minister for Transport and has co-hosted three conferences on rail transport. The conferences highlighted the need for, and value of, improved rail services.

The WDC has also been engaged in examining efforts to improve rail freight traffic services. It is hoped that there will be growth in rail freight traffic from the region.

The new rolling stock and services introduced in 2008 have finally put mainline services on a par with those in the east and south and the first phase of the Western Rail Corridor is due to be operational in September 2009.

Roads

Since its establishment, the WDC has always actively promoted the importance of quality road infrastructure in the Western Region. Road transport is particularly important in rural regions where access to public transport is more limited. For example, 78% of people travelling to work in the region go by car or van in comparison to 70% nationally.
Even though the completion of the road programme set out in Transport 21, including the Major Inter Urban (MIU) routes, will be of major benefit to the region, it will make the deficiencies in the road network north of Galway even more apparent. The WDC argues that if the Atlantic Road Corridor from Letterkenny to Limerick, and onwards to Cork and Waterford, is to be an effective economic counterbalance to the east of the country it should be of at least dual carriageway standard for its entire length.

Telecommunications

Availability of high-quality affordable broadband is essential to the economic and social development of the Western Region. The WDC continually promotes the importance of broadband in the West and has been active in information society issues at a national level.

While significant advances have been made in broadband roll-out nationally and in larger regional centres (using fixed, wireless and mobile technologies) access in rural areas remains limited. Even when broadband is available, services can be patchy, unstable, and with restricted capacity.

The WDC continues to draw attention to the ’spatial digital divide’ and most recently highlighted these issues in a submission to the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Consultation on Spectrum Policy.
You can download this submission here.