CSO stats show scale of increasing rural isolation

Residents in County Galway are living further away from most everyday services such as doctors and post offices compared with other counties.

New Central Statistics Office (CSO) data reveals that people living in County Galway on average must travel greater distances to go to school than most other counties. People living in County Galway also have to travel greater distances to get to their nearest bank, post office, pharmacy, convenience store and emergency services such as fire brigade and 24-hour Garda station.

Nationally, in rural areas, the average distance to a GP was 3.1km but in County Galway it was 6.8km. The average distance to a 24-hour Garda station is 8km, but in County Galway it was 15.4km. People living in County Galway had an average distance of over 30km to a HSE maternity hospital or adult emergency department.

County Galway residents are 4.6km on average from a convenience store, compared with 2.3km nationally. People living here are 2.1km and 6.5km from a primary school and secondary school respectively, compared with 1.5km and 3.8km nationally. County Galway residents are nearly twice the national average distance away from a bank – 10.1km compared with 5.5km for the State.

Dwellers in County Galway are 3.9km away from a post office and 5.6km away from a pharmacy, compared with the national average of 2.5km and 2.8km.

The average distance to a fire station in County Galway was 10.9km compared with 5.5km nationally; and the average distance to a Garda station was 4.6km compared with 3.2km nationally.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, in shops today.

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