Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I understand the Deputy is referring to plans to allocate extra funding to the local improvement scheme, LIS, in 2018. The LIS is a scheme for carrying out improvement works on private and non-public roads. The type of roads covered under the scheme are not under the normal maintenance of the county councils. However, they provide vital links for people living in rural areas and need to be maintained to enable people living in rural Ireland to access their homes, farm land or amenities.

For many years, there was no dedicated funding for the LIS due to the constraints on the public finances. However, I allocated €10 million in funding for the LIS in September 2017. The scheme is administered by the county councils. The councils prioritise the roads to be repaired and carry out the works. Based on demand for the scheme and the capacity of local authorities to complete further works before the end of last year, I allocated an additional €7.4 million for LIS roads in November 2017. Building on the success of last year's scheme, I approved €10.8 million to county councils for LIS roads in February of this year. In total, over 1,100 LIS roads will have benefited from the investment of €28 million made by my Department since last September. As part of the 2018 LIS scheme, I requested each county council to compile a secondary list of suitable LIS road projects which they could complete if additional funding becomes available for the scheme later this year. I will be monitoring the situation in the context of my Department's overall expenditure performance over the coming months.

See this speech in context