County Sligo Profile

Rail Network

Rail infrastructure in County Sligo consists of:

• the Sligo-Dublin line, used mainly for inter-city services;
• the disused line from Collooney to Bellaghy/Charlestown, which forms the northern section of the Western Rail Corridor, potentially linking Sligo and Galway/Limerick, with on ward connections to Cork, Waterford and Rosslare.

The Sligo-Dublin rail line is a key strategic transportation link for the North-West. In recognition of this, Iarnrod Eireann (Irish Rail) has undertaken major upgrading works involving track renewal between Sligo and Carrick-on-Shannon (in 2002, under the OnTrack 2000 investment programme), and platform lengthening at Sligo, Collooney and Ballymote stations. The frequency of service between Sligo and Dublin is now five trains per day and it is expected in two years that new intercity trains will operate every two hours, all day.

There are local, community-led proposals to develop a commuter rail service on the existing mainline between Ballymote and Sligo, with stops at Collooney and Ballysadare and scope for extensions to Boyle and Carrick-on-Shannon.

Together with the other local authorities in the West, Sligo County Council is seeking the reopening of passenger and freight services along the Western Rail Corridor. This route has been identified as a ’National Transport Corridor’ in the NSS and its reopening is strongly supported. The proposal would provide an important north-south rail service in the West, with potential for internal regional linkages, connections to Dublin and a range of commuter services. It could involve reopening of the existing Ennis-Collooney Junction line and the introduction of a more direct link between Cork and Limerick would be achieved by rebuilding the abandoned Charleville to Patrickswell line. There are also calls for the reopening of the Sligo-Enniskillen-Belfast line. The promotion of Tobercurry and Ballymote as Key Support Towns, and Collooney and Ballysadare as smaller settlements with opportunities for growth, will serve to enhance the feasibility of the Western Rail Corridor and local commuter rail services.

Road Network

During the period 1991 to 2002, there was an increase of 88% in the number of persons in County Sligo who travelled to work, school or college by private vehicle.

National Primary and Secondary Roads
Sligo County Council's Capital Roads Programme for National Routes is framed within the targets set out in the NRA's National Roads Needs Study, 1998 and the National Development Plan 2000-2006. The NRA's Needs Study provides a basis on which future policy decisions for the development of the National Road network will be made over the period 2000 - 2019. Continuing improvements to the National Primary and Secondary road network will enable the catchment area of County Sligo to expand - particularly south to parts of Mayo and Roscommon, via the N17 and N4, and north to Donegal, via the N15. Improvements to the N16 will enhance connections to Enniskillen and, in addition, the Trans-European Network1 cross-border route will improve links to Belfast and Northern Ireland. These improvements are expected to take place by 2010.

The National Spatial Strategy highlights the importance of the N17 (Sligo to Galway) and N15 (Sligo to Letterkenny) routes for the promotion of regional development. Although the National Routes comprise only 7% of the County's total road network, they carry the majority of its traffic.

Non-national roads
Regional and local roads make up 95% of County Sligo's road network and approximately 65% of the network has been restored to date under the Council's Multi-Annual Restoration Programme.
Discretionary Improvement Grants and Special EU Co-Financed Grants provide funding for non-national road improvements, in which €25 million has been invested in County Sligo since 1995.
Sligo's extensive non-national road network comprises 214 km of regional roads and 2,280 km of local roads.

Bus Services

Bus services play a vital social role in rural communities, linking rural areas with settlements and essential services, such as schools and healthcare. There are five categories of bus transportation currently serving County Sligo:

• seven Bus Eireann expressway long-distance services, linking Sligo with Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Athlone, Derry and Belfast;
• twenty-two Bus Eireann local commuter routes;
• Bus Eireann school bus services operated on behalf of the Department of Education and Science;
• private mini-bus services;
• eleven community bus routes, operated under the RTI.

Three RTIs serve County Sligo, funded under the NDP 2000-2006 - County Sligo Leader Partnership and Community of Lough Arrow Social Project (CLASP) - and Rural LIFT, a Community Transport project. These services provide access to transport for key target groups of the rural population, namely older people, people with disabilities, women at home, lower income groups and young people. According to Sligo County Development Board's Rural Transport Service Audit and Needs Assessment, 43% of these groups in rural Sligo could not make trips in 2002 due to a lack of suitable transport, thus leaving them at risk of social and economic exclusion. RTI community buses and car-sharing schemes provide door-to-door transport for passengers to towns, essential healthcare services and social facilities.

Airports

County Sligo is served by Sligo Regional Airport and Knock International Airport, which are of strategic importance as a means of access to the County and are critical to the success of the local and regional economy. Knock Airport is located just 20 km from Tobercurry and a 45-minute journey from Sligo City. The promotion of Tobercurry and Ballymote as Key Support Towns, and Bellaghy as a local centre of enterprise, is reinforced by their proximity to Knock Airport and the availability of direct access to an international business and tourism market.

Sligo Regional Airport is located at Strandhill, 8 km from Sligo City. Aer Arann provides two daily flights in each direction between Dublin and Sligo. The Airport has a 1200-metre long runway, capable of handling airliner and executive aircraft. The 30-minute flight time between Dublin and Sligo is of benefit to commuters, tourists and business interests. The Airport is owned and managed by Sligo North-West Airport Co. Ltd., which is developing a high-quality business park on adjacent lands and examining the feasibility of extending the runway to cater for a wider range of modern aircraft.

Ports & Harbours

Extensive terminal and container handling facilities are available at most Irish Ports. Sligo Port has facilities for ships up to 3,300 DWT .

Direct quayside rail connections and roll-off facilities are available at Dublin, Cork, Rosslare and Belfast and Larne in Northern Ireland.

The most popular routes to the continent are through Dublin and Larne, where several container and ferry sailings are scheduled each day. Delivery can be made within 24 hours of dispatch.

Electricity

Nationally, the demand for electricity has grown by approximately 40% in the last decade and projections suggest that the load will more than double in the next 25 years.

The Electricity Supply Board (ESB) now proposes to reinforce the high-voltage electricity infrastructure in Counties Sligo, Roscommon and Leitrim, by providing a new 220 kV line from the existing Flagford 220 kV station in Co. Roscommon, near Carrick-on-Shannon, to a new 220/110 kV substation in east Sligo, together with associated 110 kV line developments. This reinforcement will improve quality of supply and provide security and capacity of supply to service future industrial, commercial and domestic development. Work on the project commenced during 2004 and is programmed for completion by mid-2006.

Telecommunications

Intensive digitisation offers a competitive advantage in attracting economic development and investment. It also offers more flexible working arrangements, enabling people to work and communicate internationally from their homes. As highlighted by the Western Development Commission (Update on Telecommunications in the Western Region, 2002), the movement away from labour-intensive manufacturing industry to the skilled service sector of the economy has major policy implications for the provision of infrastructure, particularly the provision of telecommunications.

Sligo is relatively well covered with low-capacity satellite telecommunications infrastructure. Sligo City, Tobercurry and Ballymote are served by higher-capacity fixed, wireless or DSL (digital subscriber line) telecommunications infrastructure. Other smaller villages have also been approved under the County and Group Broadband Scheme.

The following initiatives will ensure full coverage of broadband connectivity throughout the County:

Ireland's Broadband Strategy (2003): this report outlines the government's action plan regarding the deployment of broadband throughout the country. The government's Broadband Action Plan (2003) will focus on towns with population in excess of 1,500 people that are currently without broadband. These are to be linked to high-speed Internet access as part of a €140 million spending programme by government in partnership with local authorities. Outside towns of this population size, the Group Broadband Scheme will help provide high-speed connectivity.

Group Broadband Scheme: provides funding for the provision of broadband services to small, underserved rural or remote areas and particularly for community organisations.

Metropolitan Area Network (MAN): Sligo is served by a network of ducting and fibre-optic cable laid within its metropolitan area, which can be used by a variety of businesses and organisations to provide services including telecommunications, Internet access, television, telematics and CCTV.

School Broadband Access Programme: in a joint approach, the telecommunications sector and the government have provided funding for the roll-out of broadband to all primary and secondary schools in the country.

Recommendations for Underground Telecommunications Cable Works for Road, Commercial and Residential Schemes: sets out recommendations for the provision of duct and cable infrastructure for new developments and improvement schemes. These include commercial schemes, such as business parks and office centres, and residential developments.

Education

County Sligo is well served with primary and second level schools. Third level education is available at the Institute of Technology, Sligo which offers full time certificate, diploma and degree courses in engineering, science and business and humanities as well as block-release and partime courses. Postgraduate studies to Masters and Ph.D. level are also available.

The college has a student population in excess of 4500 and is designated as the National Centre for Toolmaking and Tool Design. A Business Innovation Centre has been developed on the Campus through which the resources of the college are made available to Industry. This houses both R & D projects run by academics and start up companies run by entrepreneurs. The Institute of Technology works closely with Industry to ensure a consistent supply of qualified graduates.

St. Angela's College, linked to NUI Galway is a third level institute of higher learning specialising in innovative educational programmes including social and economic studies, nursing, food studies, tourism and leisure, business and marketing.

St. Angela's Food Centre provides a range of services to the Food Industry including Product Development, Sensory and Microbiological Analysis as well as up to date information on Science and Technology and E.U. legislation.

Industry

IDA Ireland has national responsibility for securing new investment from overseas in manufacturing and international services and for encouraging existing foreign enterprises in Ireland to expand. IDA's Business Park in Sligo has the necessary telecommunications, utilities infrastructure and buildings/site options to cater for the needs of multinational clients.

Enterprise Ireland is the organization with responsibility for marketing, technology, business development and training initiatives of Irish Industry. It has developed a wide range of programmes to meet clients identified needs. Both agencies have regional offices in Sligo, located at Finisklin Business Park.

FAS - The National Employment / Training Authority has a regional training centre in Sligo providing apprentice and adult training in basic and advanced industrial skills designed to meet the needs of local business. Its employment placement service provides a comprehensive recruitment and placement service for employers and also provides a range of incentives to new industry.

Workspace - There are a number of Enterprise Centres throughout the county providing high quality multi-purpose workspace. For further details contact Sligo County Enterprise Board at +353 (0) 71 9144779 or Enterprise Ireland at +353 (0) 71 9159700.

Health Facilities

Sligo has a full range of public and private personal health services. Extensive medical and specialist facilities are available at the 300 beds Regional Hospital which includes a Training School for Nursing. There are many general practitioners, consultants, opticians and dental surgeons in private practice.

Leisure Facilities

Blue Flag Beaches - Seaside beaches in County Sligo have been designated for Blue Flag award by the E.U. The achievement of this internationally recognized standard acknowledges the high quality of one of the County's most important natural assets. Maintaining the Blue Flag status requires rigorous monitoring together with continued investment to ensure maintenance to the highest standards.

Golf - With twenty-one 18-hole and seventeen 9-hole golf courses in the North-West Region to choose from, you are never more than a short drive from a fine golf course. The magnificent links courses along the Atlantic seaboard provide some of the most challenging and exhilarating golf in the world. Fees are relatively low and visitors are warmly welcomed.

For further information on other leisure facilities visit www.sligotourism.ie