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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 52 and 83 together.

I thank both Deputies for raising this matter. The local improvement scheme, LIS, supports the continued improvement of non-public roads and lanes that are not normally maintained by local authorities. As part of Our Rural Future, the Government is committed to ensuring that the LIS is funded into the future. I am very aware of the importance of the works funded by the LIS across the country. As the Deputies will be aware, the LIS was reintroduced by my Department in 2017 following a number of years with no dedicated funding. Since then, my Department has allocated almost €114 million to the scheme, which has upgraded some 3,700 non-public roads and lanes, benefiting more than 16,000 landowners and residents in these rural areas. The scheme is implemented in collaboration with local authorities. The prioritisation of roads and delivery of the scheme at local level are matters for each local authority.

The maintenance of regional and local roads is funded by the Department of Transport. Earlier this year, the Government announced details of a €626 million investment programme for these roads. I have always sought to ensure that the LIS is well funded; in each of the last three years, I have been able to allocate additional funding to the scheme. In July this year, I announced an additional €16 million in funding, which ensured that almost €30 million has been allocated to local authorities in 2023 alone. I also engaged with local authorities to announce the initial 2023 allocations earlier this year in order to give local authorities the maximum time possible to complete works on the ground. From 2017 to 2023, a total of €10.1 million has been allocated to County Cork to fund works carried out on more than 200 roads. This is the third-highest allocation nationally. In County Kerry, over the same period from 2017 to 2023, more than €7.7 million has been allocated to fund works on 173 roads. This is the fifth-highest allocation nationally. For 2023 alone, more than €1.5 million has been allocated to County Kerry to carry out repair and maintenance works on 25 roads, whereas more than €2.7 million has been allocated to County Cork for works on 47 priority roads. Looking ahead to next year, my Department is already engaging with local authorities to establish delivery capacity, should additional funding allocations be available for the scheme in 2024. I am very anxious to ensure that my officials engage with our delivery partners on an ongoing basis across the range of schemes in the rural development investment programme to ensure that delivery of projects across rural communities is expedited.

Lastly, I stress that I understand the importance of the LIS to rural communities, which is why I am engaging with my colleague, the Minister for Transport, with a view to exploring jointly funding the scheme. I am confident that the scheme can continue to make a real contribution to the goals set out in Our Rural Future.

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