Two Cork towns are ranked among safest to live in Ireland 

Cobh, Co Cork, is the second-safest town in Ireland. Picture Denis Minihane.

Two Cork towns are among the safest to live in the country, while Castlebar, in Mayo, has been ranked the best for work-life balance, according to a new study.

The research, carried out by switcher.ie, is based on multiple factors, including access to local amenities, such as shops, schools, GP services and cafés, broadband speed and mobile coverage. It also takes house prices, transport, green spaces, and crime rates into account.

Cobh and Carrigaline, in Cork, were found to be among the safest towns to live and work, coming second and third, after Newbridge, in Kildare, which had the lowest rate of recorded crime (11.95) per 1,000 people in 2022.

Castlebar, followed by Ballina, also in Mayo, Longford, Wexford, and Arklow were the best towns for work-life balance.

Castlebar was chosen for its affordable housing, low crime rate, and easy access to schools and health services.

Although having a higher crime rate, Longford is the cheapest place to live, with good access to schools, supermarkets, local services, and leisure facilities.

Ballina was the best area to live for families, due to house prices and crime rate, as well as the number of GP surgeries and primary schools.

Cobh ranked 14th for work-life balance, followed by Mallow, Carrigaline, and Clonmel.

Cork ranked 46th for work-life balance, with an average house price of €347,363 and a crime rate of 54.48 per 1,000, while Limerick came in last. It has an average house price of €285,572 and a crime rate of 95.66 per 1,000.

Galway was the best location for hybrid working, due to its broadband speed, 5G mobile coverage, and distance to major roads and bus stops.

Cavan was the best area to live for health and fitness, due to its community sports facilities, leisure centres, national and public parks, and gardens.

Killarney, in Kerry, was the fifth-best place to live for health and fitness.

It comes as new legislation that will give employees the right to request remote working, carer's leave, and other flexible arrangements is expected by the end of the year.

The number of people who recorded that they worked mainly from home increased by 173% between 2016 and 2022, from 94,955 workers in 2016 to 259,467 in 2022, according to the Central Statistics Office Census 2022.

Among those, 15% did so for one day a week, 17% for two days, 16% for three days, 10% for four days and 33% for five or more days per week.