Country living: 15.1km from a 24-hour Garda station in Kerry

The statistics that show how dependent rural dwellers are on their cars, and how long their journeys are

Any transport tax imposed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will hit rural households harder than others, because of the greater distances involved, an analysis of transport statistics in Ireland show.

There will be much abuse of these statistics, now that the election has kicked off, and many candidates will claim that the countryside is being forgotten by the Government and that policies discriminate against rural areas.