More Kilkenny residents ignoring travel restrictions: report
Covid weariness appears to be setting in as more Kilkenny residents are moving outside of their permitted travel area, new data reveals.
The Staying Local Indicator (SLI) issued by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) reveals 57.1% of Kilkenny residents did not travel further than 10km at any point during that week. This represents a drop of 1% on the previous week (58.1%).
Nationally, an estimated 64.2% of the population stayed local (within 10k of home) during the week ending 26 March 2021, down almost one full percentage points on the previous month when there was 65.1% adherence.
Not one county in Ireland recorded a fall in the number of people travelling more than 10km. Only Monaghan recorded an equal figure to the previous week, in a sign that people’s patience with ongoing restrictions is beginning to weat thin.
Dublin continues to be the county with the highest percentage of the population staying local (79.2%), while Roscommon, Mayo and Carlow are all below 50%, at 49.5%. 49.7% and 49.9%.
The CSO data is gathered in conjunction with Ireland’s mobile phone operators which provide mobile phone activity. However, the CSO stresses people’s phones are not tracked and that they do not have access to personal data or individuals’ movements.
A CSO spokesperson said: “Propensity to stay within 10km of residence tends to differ by county, as movement is impacted by local circumstances and conditions, such as access to services and levels of urbanisation.
“For example, Dublin, with a high level of urbanisation, consistently shows the highest percentage of persons staying local, while Mayo and Roscommon, with low levels of urbanisation, have the lowest percentage of persons staying within 10km of home.”
