Getting there without going around the bend

For those people whose jobs involve travel within Ireland, one factor is crucial: mileage. Clearly, anyone who gets paid 60p a mile, tax free, relishes the prospect of a Dublin-Limerick round trip. Someone who doesn't, obviously, dreads the very thought of it.

But travel they must, and limited are their choices. There are pros and cons for planes, trains and rented automobiles, and it is important to select the right mode of transport.

This depends on various personal and logistical questions, such as: What is the total time of the journey from door to door? Are you paying for the cost of the trip yourself? Are you travelling on your own or someone else's time? Do you need to be mobile when you get to your destination? Would you like to work or sleep on the way there? Use a mobile phone?

In recent years, Iarnrod Eireann has been advertising its product heavily. Travel by train, it says, is stress-free, even relaxing. The advantages are that you can work, make and take calls on your mobile phone, read a book, eat a meal, have a drink with a colleague, snooze, stretch your legs and arrive feeling at peace with the world.

Absent from the adverts, of course, are Friday and Sunday evening carriages bursting with humanity, corridors jammed with luggage, toilets without paper but with scalding hot water, crowded bars and spartan buffet cars.

But whatever its shortcomings, the train is becoming more and more popular. Iarnrod Eireann says it sold 9.1 million tickets last year, up from 8.4 million in 1996. It recently launched a new-look Belfast service with Northern Ireland Railways, and says numbers have jumped 20 per cent.

The trick with the train, is to get a double seat. The smart way to do this is to choose a departure time that is not popular with the large number of people who work in Dublin and return home to other parts of the country.

There is also the option of paying for a first class ticket, which can cost up to double the standard fare but usually means more comfortable and less-crowded travelling conditions.

One disadvantage of the train is that while it does not have to negotiate traffic, it is still slow. While French trains speed around at 200 miles per hour, our locomotives chug along at around 60. Another problem is that they only go from A to B, then you're on your own.

Planes have the same problem, but they are quicker. This is their main advantage; even the flight between Dublin and Kerry takes less than an hour. If your final destination is somewhere within bus or taxi distance from the airport, the plane can be a wonderful time-saver.

There are other advantages, such as there being no traffic, and not having to concentrate on where you are going. There's also the chance you'll be able to get some work done on board.

It is, of course, a more restrictive form of travel than the train. You cannot use your mobile phone in the air, you may be cramped and be unable to work, and wandering up and down the aisle to stretch your legs is frowned upon, certainly in the smaller, Fokker planes.

Internal air travel is still considerably more expensive than taking trains or cars, but for the more cynical, there is a hidden advantage; the more plane trips your company pays for, the more air miles you get for yourself.

As with all air fares, taking a trip at short notice and coming back the same day is the most expensive option. The airlines hate this trick, but you may on occasion find it cheaper to book two restricted return fares, one originating from each airport.

For regular travellers, Aer Lingus now sells a carnet of 10 return tickets between Dublin, Cork or Shannon, at £750. These are fully flexible, and can be used by an individual or by a number of people in a company.

Another travel option - one which is often overlooked - is taking the road.

Hiring a car anywhere in Ireland, especially for just a day or two, is still quite expensive prices start at £35 a day. It will also visit upon the traveller all the stress of driving in the rain or the dark and negotiating traffic. There is no chance of doing any work, it can be dangerous and even illegal to answer the mobile phone, and there are no aisles in which to stretch your legs.

For trip of up to, say, 100 miles, this may not be an issue. But a round trip from Dublin to Galway, for example, is 270 miles. Now try Waterford to Letterkenny and back, at 480 miles, most of the way on single-lane roads.

However, the car delivers freedom of movement like no other method of transport. Want to stop at a nice restaurant? No problem. Thinking of a last-minute detour? Off you go. The meeting drags on, way past when the bus and the train leave? Not an issue. And you can drive right up to the door of your destination.

In our culture, the car also represents private space. Some people find peace of mind inside the fast-moving, sealed box, and others enjoy being able to listen and even sing along to music at loud volume.

This will not go down too well, however, on a Bus Eireann or Ulsterbus bus. Buses have many of the disadvantages of cars, planes and trains traffic delays, cramped conditions, timetables, point-to-point travel and few advantages.

But they are worth considering for their large range of destinations and low prices. In general, the longer the bus ride, the more tedious it becomes. But by this rule of thumb, a 100-mile round trip is not too difficult to endure.

Certainly a lot less difficult than the suspicion that everyone in the whole world, apart from you, is getting paid mileage.