Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have no 4 x 4, but what I did have when I was growing up was a bicycle. I lived on a lane that was one mile long and there were potholes left, right and centre, and if I missed one, I was sure to hit the next one. I know all about lanes and I know there are problems when the milk lorry cannot get in to get the milk out, for example. There is a long list of lanes in every county that every Deputy raises with me, and when we do have additional funding, it is spent and it is making a difference. I see that it is making a difference in many areas. It is a very popular scheme in the rural areas where I live and where Deputy Naughten lives. There would be plenty of rain in his part of the country too.

I take the Deputy's point on footpaths. When first I was Minister in this area in 2016, I funded footpaths until they came out through my ears, and that is the truth, under the town and village renewal scheme. The next thing was, the footpaths were dug up and new footpaths put in and I said, "That is it; that is enough footpaths." The councils should be funding the footpaths and they should be putting them in right in the first place instead of digging them up two or three years later to put different stones in or whatever. I could not reward footpaths that would be replaced every couple of years because, to me, that was waste.

On the CLÁR programme, we have expanded it. I am always happy to look at changes. We fund things like biodiversity gardens, school playgrounds and improved disability access at GAA grounds and other sporting facilities. Sports bodies got money from the sports capital fund to do up their pitches, but there was nothing for the poor spectators and there was many a one that would like to go. We were able to fund that through CLÁR and it is popular. The good news is I will be announcing CLÁR funding in a few weeks. It is money that gets spent quickly.

I take the Deputy's point about the footpaths. They need to be kept and people need to be able to walk safely on them. They should also be easily accessible but there is an important role for the local authorities there. They must have some responsibilities themselves and footpaths are one such responsibility. That said, we will explore top-ups but it is important we try to deliver in the areas where a need has been identified.

If the Deputy gets a chance, he should have a word with the Minister for Transport. Maybe he could give me a few more bob and we can get rid of the long list of LIS projects and we would not have to be talking about them.