Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There are a number of things to welcome. The €10 million for the village renewal is very welcome, and even though it is only a small amount, it is a step in the right direction. I believe the local authorities are to submit their applications to the Department for approval by Friday. I ask that the Minister does not delay long in turning it around. I understand that the work must be completed and the money drawn down before the end of the year.

With regard to the Leader programme, it is my understanding that no money has come to any development company yet nor has the funding been given to them, or indeed to IRD Duhallow or to the north-east Kerry or south Kerry partnerships. There was €250 million announced. Is it coming next year? It has not arrived yet so are we talking about 2017? Will we get extra funding when we go into another year given that the Department has saved so much this year?

The Minister said that a further €3 million is being added to the CLÁR programme. I can tell her that for the past ten years we did not get a bone farthing. Was some section of the community or some part of Ireland being included, was it left included or was it still getting funded? We were not getting any and it meant an awful lot. I ask that our fair share is given to us in Kerry because there are a lot of little roads that used to be done under that scheme, along with group water schemes, and for which there is now a demand again. Even group sewerage schemes in certain places qualified. If the Minister is saying to me that a further €3 million is available, I want to know how much was being given out to the other counties in recent years.

We all have a wish list and I have already spoken about local improvement schemes. The Minister gave me an answer and I could not get back to her. She said that the local authorities were still allowed to do local improvement schemes. Of course they can do them but they must get the funding. There is currently funding for five schemes this year. We have 160 schemes on our list sanctioned and approved. There are 500 or more waiting to be assessed. At five a year it will take about 200 years to deal with what is inside the offices of Kerry County Council. I remember years when we did about 48 or 50 schemes. Some years we did 110 or 111 schemes in one year. I want that kind of money restored to those people on those roads.

I can remember my father telling me that in 2010 the Department of Finance tried to get the former Minister for transport, Noel Dempsey to abolish that scheme. He did not let them that year. However, the next year the then Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar, abolished the scheme and it was ordained by the Department of Finance. It said that it was not fair for the taxpayer to be paying for private roads. However, these are not essentially private roads. They are private in the sense that they are not in the control of the local authority but there are as many as ten, 12 or 15 houses on some of these roads. They pay their car tax, their property tax and every other thing they are being asked to pay for. They have their own water and are not looking for free water. They have to provide their own septic tanks. They are entitled to a road to their door if there is money and if things are improving a bit. These people have been languishing since 2008. Some of these people have made their application under this scheme as far back as that and they are languishing. We are nearly going into 2020 and there is no sign of any improvement for them.

The Minister is from rural Ireland also. She should not tell me that the local authorities have the funding to do the work because they do not have it. They only get so much for the county roads programme and if they take the funds from that then some other road that was on the list for the three-year roads programme would have to forgo the money, which would not be fair.

I do not want to hog the meeting but I am glad to get the opportunity. It is something that is very important to many people in the place I represent.