31 Jan Dillon welcomes survey results showing two Mayo towns are best places to live in terms of work-life balance 

A new survey which shows two Mayo towns are the best places to live in terms of work-life balance highlights the good work which has been done by government, Mayo County Council and local community groups over many years, says Alan Dillon TD.  

Deputy Dillon was commenting on this week’s survey by Switcher.ie which states that Castlebar is the best place to live in terms of work-life balance, while Ballina is in second place ahead of Longford, Wexford town and Arklow, Co. Wicklow.  

Deputy Dillon said: “The results of this survey take into account data such as access to local amenities and schools, major supermarkets and leisure centres, services such as broadband speed and mobile coverage as well as proximity to green spaces and transport routes along with house prices and crime rates.” 

He said: “This did not happen overnight. It is the continuous involvement and co-operation between Government and State Agencies along with many community organisations. The Government has continued to invest in our National Broadband Plan, our local national and secondary schools, the establishment of the Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Mayo Campus in Castlebar, while over €750m has been invested in our primary roads network including the N5 and N4 as well as more than €23m in Ireland West Airport Knock in the last decade. 

‘However, there is always more work to be done, especially in relation to increasing our housing supply. This week I raised the issue of affordable housing targets in Mayo with An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, noting that more than 3,000 homes have been provided in Mayo since the launch of Rebuilding Ireland in mid-2016.” 

Deputy Dillon said despite this, not a single affordable home has been built in Mayo since the adoption of the Housing For All plan. “While social housing is extremely important, there should be a mix of social and affordable housing. It is crucial that Mayo County Council deliver ambitious affordable housing schemes to meet the level of demand from individuals, young couples and those seeking home ownership.”