City Living: Dublin's commuter belt is growing quickly, says Edel Morgan

The Dublin commuter belt is gradually subsuming the countryside. Already the belt has a 70-mile radius outside Dublin, according to a report published this week by HOK Country, and this has been helped by improved road and rail infrastructure. A straw poll of country estate agents by City Living found that some Dublin commuters are now buying property located more than 80 miles outside the capital.

The 22 per cent rise in Dublin property prices last year - at a rate of €209 per day - has pushed people even further afield to find a property within their budget. In the quest to get a foot on the elusive property ladder some face a commute of up to five hours daily - about the time it takes to fly to New York.

The 70-mile radius brings towns like Cullahill in Co Laois, Annyalla in Monaghan, Edgeworthstown in Longford and Ballyragget in Kilkenny into the realm of Dublin commuters.

Estate agent Irene Coyne of Longford estate agency Brady McDonagh Casey, says hot spots in Longford for Dublin buyers include Edgeworthstown (65 miles), Longford town (74 miles), Keenagh (a whopping 83 miles from Dublin) and Tarmonbarry village (80 miles)where you can buy a large detached house on the River Shannon for €300,000-plus .

"It's about value for money," says Coyne. "It's much cheaper to buy a four-bed house here. You can buy a house that is twice the size for the same money or cheaper as Dublin."

Coyne has noticed a trend for Dublin buyers to commute for a time before finding work locally, perhaps with the Prison Service or healthcare company Abbott Laboratories which are major employers locally.

Peter McCreery of Sherry FitzGerald McCreery in Kilkenny says the expanding commuter belt has started to impact on Kilkenny.

"We used to watch, with envy to a certain extent, as Carlow benefited from being part of the belt," says McCreery, "but in the last six months, we've had quite a few enquiries for both new and second-hand homes in Kilkenny."

He says the most popular areas are Paulstown (62 miles), Freshford (74 miles), Ballyragget (69 miles) and Thomastown (75 miles) - which are all in Co Kilkenny - and Durrow (64 miles) in Co Laois. Kilkenny city (74 miles) has seen a significant Dublin influx because of its nightlife and amenities.

However, there is one major obstacle that commuters from Kilkenny face every day - the infamous Red Cow roundabout in Clondalkin. "It means they have to leave home earlier and earlier, by around 6.30am, to get in to work at a reasonable time. We are to get more trains, which will improve the situation drastically." McCreery says that large tracts of land have been zoned for housing in Kilkenny which has helped make it an attractive for Dublin commuters. "The local authorities have been very pro-active in terms of executing local area plans so there is very good value in rural towns," he says.

Alison Moffett of Gunne in Monaghan says an increasing number of Dublin commuters are moving to Monaghan thanks to the Carrickmacross bypass. She recently sold a house in Annyalla, three miles outside Castleblayney, to a man with a business in St Margarets in Finglas who intends to commute daily.

One in every 10 sales is to a Dublin person, says Moffett, who says buyers tend to be aged from 28 to 40 and are generally young couples and families who opt for rural properties that "are not too far from a village or town. Not all of them commute every day, some commute only a few days a week. Others are looking for a better life in the country or a house that is affordable. In some cases one half of a couple might commute to a job in Dublin, while the other stays at home with the children."

Broadband and a shift towards people working from home has encouraged more people to abandon the city, says David Ashmore of HOK Country, in the agency's market overview. The report says 65 per cent of the purchasers of country homes on their books were from Dublin, with 5 per cent from overseas.

An improved transport infrastructure and the advent of broadband has seen a shift away from the greater Dublin area towards Louth, Wexford, Westmeath and beyond. Rural seclusion and lakeside properties are highly sought-after. Some buyers are returning to the country after working in Dublin while others want a change of lifestyle or value for their money. Those who want the best of both worlds are relocating while retaining a base in the city.

HOK Country believes that Dublin people will gravitate to the countryside as the roads improve. The Government's €34.4 billion Transport 21 plan aims to improve roads, rail and bus services over the next 10 years. But for those commuting three to five hours a day out of necessity rather than choice, the prospect of an upgraded road and rail network by 2015 may come as cold comfort.

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