Laois councillor defends his town labeled in 'top 10 worst places to live'

A Laois councillor has slammed the placement of his town on a list of the 'top 10 worst places to live in Ireland'.

Portarlington was ranked fourth worst place to live in Ireland, by an online media website aimed at tourists, just because it has few job vacancies.

Cllr Aidan Mullins, a local representative on the Portarlington Graiguecullen Municipal District is having none of it.

He gave his reaction to the Leinster Express / Laois Live.

"I'd love to know what criteria they used to come to this conclusion. Just take Portarlington on the list, I would imagine if I was given the job of carrying out that exercise, I'd be looking at things like sports available in the town. Portarlington caters for every sport. They have a great community spirit, they have plenty of voluntary organisations, the best of schools and some new schools. The only issue like everywhere else is the housing rental market.

"From the point of view of job creation, the big employers like ESB, Bord na Móna Avon have left the scene but a lot of people commute from Portarlington and Laois every day, particularly to Dublin. To judge Portarlington purely on the number of jobs available it just doesn't make sense. It's laughable to be honest. 

"I don't think it's going to be harmful because any reasonable person that reads that report will see that it doesn't stack up. To just judge a town based on the number of jobs its just crazy. Are you saying that if Portarlington had plenty of jobs but no schools, no shops, no infrastructure, no sporting facilities, no amenites, that's fine? It just doesn't make sense. Whoever carried out that exercise, it was a waste of time," Cllr Mullins told the Leinster Express / Laois Live.

Irelandbeforeyoudie.com said of Portarlington that "County Offaly is among the top counties in Ireland with the lowest job vacancies. So, a move to the town of Portarlington, one of the border towns between Laois and Offaly, could leave you struggling to find a job.

"For employment reasons, this town is considered one of the worst places to live in Ireland. However, the town has been slowly getting a facelift, which is excellent news," the media website said.

Read also: Over €500,000 to upgrade rural Laois water and sewerage schemes

It ranked the North Inner City Dublin as the worst place to live in Ireland, followed by Drogheda, Granard and then Portarlington. In number five was Limerick city, followed by Athy, Clonmel, Bunclody, Carrick-on-Suir and Moate.

"Ireland is beautiful, with stunning rural areas, a warm nation, and rich culture. However, your experience will entirely depend on where you live. On the flip side, there are the absolute worst places to live, which see high crime levels, low employment opportunities, high rates of cost of living, and extortionate rent prices," the website said.