Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will certainly consider putting it on a permanent footing. It was always intended to be a two year pilot. We will be coming to the end of the two years shortly and we will put it on a permanent footing so long as things continue to work well this year.

I do not have all the details of the scheme but contact will be made with the local authorities in the next few weeks with all the details, and I will ask that this be copied to Deputies. We will certainly put pressure on or encourage councils to apply. As was pointed out by the Deputies from Kildare, only two schemes were funded in Kildare as against 19 in Meath, for example, and while there was one in Waterford, there were 29 in Cavan. There is certainly more scope for applications from different counties.

I acknowledge the role of the Minister of State, Deputy Kelly, in this regard. While the funding comes from the roads budget, which is under my control, the initial initiative for this scheme came from him last May. I want to put that on the record.

See this speech in context