Car

If you need to be flexible, then commuting by car from Carlow to Dublin is the only option. Expect long hold-ups on the stretch of the N9 around Timolin and Moone caused by the construction of new bypasses. Castledermot can often be a bottleneck. The journey takes about an hour and a half in reasonable traffic. Mornings and evenings, it can be a crawl from the city outskirts into the quays. Generally, the road is good and set to get better when the planned Carlow bypass is a reality. Then - and it could take several years as the route has yet to be decided - it will be dual-carriageway or motorway all the way to Dublin.

Train

The 6.30 a.m. gets into Heuston station at 8 a.m. Then most commuters have to bus or walk along the quays to work. Going home, there is only one train to tie in with a nine-to-five job - the 6.20 p.m. which arrives in Carlow at 7.25 p.m. This meagre timetable is blamed by Iarnrod Eireann on the fact that Heuston station is oversubscribed and there is no room for extra services. A weekly return ticket costs £36.

Bus

There is just one bus getting into Dublin in time for a 9 a.m. start. The 6.50 a.m. arrives in Busarus at 8.20 a.m. There are plenty of seats, says Bus Eireann. In the evening, the 6 p.m. gets into Carlow at 7.30 p.m. Late workers can catch the 8 p.m. which arrives home by 9.25 p.m. The weekly fare is £21.