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

I am pleased to hear the Deputy is not the only Deputy in Kerry who fills potholes. I imagine he does not charge as much as the others, but I am sure whatever they charge is a fair price. The LIS is essential for rural Ireland in improving roads that are not taken in charge but are effectively public roads. Funding for it has now gone up to €10.5 million for this year, which is up 5% on last year. Since 2017, €68 million has been spent improving and restoring 2,400 roads throughout the country. As the Deputy said, much more could be done if there was more funding. I commit to exploring the reallocation of some capital funding towards the LIS that cannot be spent in other areas because of the construction shutdown. We know that some construction projects will be delayed, so we should perhaps repurpose and reallocate some of that money towards the LIS, which could be done quickly.

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