Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The local improvement scheme, LIS, which is funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development is attempting to play catch-up after a ten-year spell in which there was absolutely no investment under the programme. Rural communities like my own in Cavan-Monaghan, particularly farming communities, are hugely dependent on the scheme. Cavan County Council has more than 220 application forms sitting on shelves since as far back as 2008. In Monaghan County Council there is an eight-year backlog. The Minister, Deputy Ring, has done a terrific job in reintroducing the scheme, but he needs the support of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport in implementing it. The Minister in that Department, Deputy Ross, should be playing a more active role, together with the Department of Rural and Community Development, in investing in local authorities by way of the scheme. Otherwise, they will never catch up in dealing with a backlog that stretches back ten years in some cases.

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