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11 Infrastructure

Air

The three most important international airports in the Republic are Dublin Airport, Cork International Airport and Shannon Airport. All provide extensive services to the UK and continental Europe, while Dublin and Shannon also offer a range of transatlantic services. The Irish national airline Aer Lingus and low-cost operator Ryanair are based at Dublin. Shannon was once an important stopover on the trans-Atlantic route for refuelling operations and, with Dublin, is still one of Ireland's two designated transatlantic gateway airports. There are several smaller regional airports in the Republic: Galway Airport, Kerry Airport (Farranfore), Ireland West Airport (Knock), Sligo Airport, Waterford Airport, and Donegal Airport (Carrickfinn). Scheduled services from these regional points are mostly limited to Ireland and the United Kingdom.

In Northern Ireland there are three main aviation facilities. Belfast International Airport (Aldergrove) offers flights to destinations in Great Britain and Western Europe, and since 2005, daily transatlantic service to Newark (in New Jersey, United States). Flights from Belfast City Airport (Recently re-named George Best Belfast City Airport following the death of the football player) and City of Derry Airport mainly serve destinations in the Republic and in Great Britain.

Rail

The rail network in Ireland was developed by various private companies, some of which received British Government funding in the late 19th century. The network reached its greatest extent by 1920. The broad gauge of 5 foot 3 inches (1,600 mm) was eventually settled upon throughout the island, although there were narrow gauge (3 ft / 91.4 cm) railways also. Ireland also has one of the largest freight railways in Europe, operated by Bord na Móna. This company has a narrow gauge railway of 1,200 miles (1,930 km).

Long distance passenger trains in the Republic are managed by Iarnród Éireann (Irish Railways) and connect most major towns and cities across the country. In Dublin, two local rail networks provide transportation in the city and its immediate vicinity. The Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART, pictured left) links the city centre with surrounding suburbs. Additionally, a new light rail system named Luas, opened in 2004, transports passengers within city limits. Several more Luas lines are planned as well as an eventual upgrade to metro. The scheme is being run by Connex under franchise from the RPA.

Under the government's Transport 21 plan, reopening the Navan-Clonsilla rail link, the Cork Midleton rail link and the Western Rail Corridor are amongst plans for Ireland's railways.

In Northern Ireland, all rail services are provided by Northern Ireland Railways, part of Translink.

Roads

Traffic drives on the left in Ireland, as in Britain, Australia, India, Hong Kong and Japan. Unfortunately, tourists driving on the wrong side of the road cause serious accidents every year. The island of Ireland has an extensive road network. In recent years Ireland motorway network has grown, focused on Dublin and the east coast. Historically, land owners developed most roads and later Turnpike Trusts collected tolls so that as early as 1800 Ireland had a 10,000 mile (16,100 km) road network.

The year 1815 marked the inauguration of the first horsecar service from Clonmel to Thurles and Limerick. Nowadays, the main bus companies are Bus Éireann in the South and Ulsterbus, a division of Translink, in the North, both of which offer extensive passenger service in all parts of the island. Dublin Bus specifically serves the greater Dublin area, and a further division of Translink called Metro, operates services within the greater Belfast area.

Energy

For much of their existence electricity networks in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland were entirely separate. Both networks were designed and constructed independently, but are now connected with three interlinks and also connected by Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) through Great Britain to mainland Europe. The Electricity Supply Board (ESB) in the Republic drove a rural electrification programme in the 1940s until the 1970s.

The natural gas network is also now all-island, with a connection from Antrim to Scotland. Most of Ireland's gas comes from the Kinsale field. The Corrib Gas Field in Mayo has yet to come online, and is facing some localised opposition over the controversial decision to refine the gas onshore.

Ireland, north and south has faced difficulties in providing continuous power at peak load. The situation in Northern Ireland is complicated by the issue of private companies not supplying NIE with enough power, while in the Republic, the ESB has failed to modernise its power stations. In the latter case, availability of power plants has averaged 66% recently, one of the worst such figures in Western Europe.

There have been recent efforts in Ireland to use renewable energy such as wind energy with large wind farms being constructed in coastal counties such as Donegal, Mayo and Antrim. Recently what will be the world's largest offshore wind farm is being developed at Arklow Bank off the coast of Wicklow. It is estimated to generate 10% of Ireland's energy needs when it is complete. These constructions have in some cases been delayed by opposition from locals, most recently on Achill Island, some of whom consider the wind turbines to be unsightly. Another issue in the Republic of Ireland is the failure of the aging network to cope with the varying availability of power from such installations. Turlough Hill is the only energy storage mechanism in Ireland.