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

Funding is allocated each year based on the geographical area of each county, with a minimum and a maximum allocation applied, and the basis for allocating funds is reviewed each year. My Department has received indicative figures from the local authorities for the applications on hand. We need to be sure that the figures provided for each county are comparable.

The officials are examining these issues and consulting local authorities. It takes time, but the most important point to make is that we are making some inroads into the lists. My constituency counties are no different from any other, as both Cavan and Monaghan have long lists. However, we must remember that this fund was closed for a good number of years. In fairness to my predecessor, Deputy Ring, he was the man who reopened it. It has been running ever since and a good deal of funding has been invested in it. I appreciate that there are lists, but the LIS was always funded by the Department of Transport. I have been in contact with the Minister to see what his Department can bring to the table in this regard.

See this speech in context