A Clare town has been ranked best in the west for access to services and social facilities.
Shannon is among five towns in Clare to be included in the Western Development Commission’s Sustainable Mobility Index for 2024 which assesses rural transport progress in seven counties on the west coast.
The report covers 40 rural towns and examines improvements in public transport accessibility and connectivity while identifying areas for further investment.
The industrial town of Shannon has fallen by one spot to second place overall, but remains the highest-ranked town for access to services and social facilities while it’s risen to third place for readiness for low carbon transition.
It’s also been ranked eighth in the region for access to employment and economic opportunities.
Newmarket-on-Fergus has also performed well with the south Clare village being ranked second for access to services and social facilities despite its overall rating slipping from 6th in 2022 to 11th.
Sixmilebridge has fallen into the bottom half of the table with a ranking of 23rd but has seen its score for access to employment and economic opportunities rise from 22nd to 19th.
Killaloe has made its first appearance due to population increase and has appeared at 32nd place.
Kilrush meanwhile, which is the only town in Clare with an area deemed by Pobal to be “extremely disadvantaged”, has fallen to 38th place out of the 40 towns assessed.
