Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for being here on the graveyard shift and the Minister of State, Deputy Malcolm Noonan, for staying late to take this Topical Issue matter. It is a very important issue that affects thousands of families all over the country. Right now, thousands of local improvement scheme, LIS, roads are awaiting funding to be repaired and brought back to an acceptable standard.

There is a misconception that these are private roads and they are often referred to as private roads. The reality in many cases is that these are roads that local authorities have, to be kind, ignored for years. They are non-council roads but there is an impression they are gated roads that only one family can use, which is a misconception. These are very often important roads used by multiple families. Unfortunately, many have fallen into a terrible state of disrepair and people need financial support from the State to keep the roads in a decent condition in order to be used.

Just last night, I was on Farnes road in Castlemaine, County Kerry, where there are 13 houses. There is nothing private about that road but it is a non-council road in appalling condition. The neighbours came together last night and themselves filled some of the potholes with tarmac, but that is a stop-gap measure and the road is still very substandard. These are all citizens who deserve to have excellent infrastructure, as every citizen deserves to have, but particularly for that last half a mile up to their house. People pay their motor tax and they contribute to society in so many different ways, yet the road to their home is in an appalling condition.

This is happening all over the country. There are hundreds of cases in Kerry and thousands nationwide. I acknowledge the work that has been done in recent years to get the scheme moving again and to get extra funding to clear the old lists and open up new applications, but, quite simply, the money there now is not enough and is only a drop in the ocean. I understand some €10 million was allocated this year and while I acknowledge that is a 5% increase on last year, realistically, €10 million would only cover a fraction of the roads in Kerry, never mind the roads all over the country.

I have started a campaign in the last couple of weeks to “clear the LIS-t”. The local improvement scheme is very worthy of funding and it is money that can be spent immediately. Employment would be created immediately and people would not have to get planning permission as these are shovel-ready projects. It would mean a huge difference to the quality of life of people living close to these roads. It is not just homes and farmyards that are connected by these roads. Many important amenities, such as our mountains, lakes, rivers and walkways, are connected. Even in my own community, I can point to numerous roads that connect the seashore, the mountain and the walkways, and they are local improvement scheme roads that are awaiting funding.

I do not think the Department of Rural and Community Development can do this alone as it does not have a huge overall budget. That is why I am glad the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, is present because I feel that his Department, through local government, has a role to play, as absolutely and very blatantly does the Department of Transport. It used to be a transport issue and it was shipped over to the Department of Rural and Community Development in 2016. I congratulate the former Minster, Deputy Michael Ring, on the work he did to progress this issue and the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, has done great work as well. However, they cannot do it alone and they need help. I call on all three Departments to chip in but I also ask that, in every Department, there be a look at redirecting capital funding that cannot be spent at the moment because of Covid and the re-profiling of that towards the local improvement schemes. As I said, it would improve quality of life but would also provide much-needed employment for people all over the country.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I was here for the first Seanad Commencement matter this morning on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and I am here in the Dáil for the last matter this evening on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, as well.

I thank Deputy Griffin for raising this issue. I certainly recall that, during my time on Kilkenny County Council, the local improvement scheme was a hugely popular scheme and was always oversubscribed. There is no doubt it is a challenge to try to clear that list, as the Deputy said.

The local improvement scheme is a programme for improvement works on small private or non-public roads in rural areas which are not under the normal maintenance of the local authorities. As the Deputy is aware, the scheme is funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development and is administered through the local authorities. The focus of the scheme is to support the continued improvement of rural roads and laneways that are not normally maintained by local authorities but which represent a vital piece of infrastructure for rural residents, as the Deputy stated. I know how important the scheme is for people in rural areas, and for farm families in particular. There is no other source of funding for these roads, which provide vital access to agricultural lands and rural homes. The Deputy mentioned Castlemaine and the property owners themselves coming out to fill the potholes. It is a huge challenge. The scheme is also used to fund non-public roads leading to important community amenities, such as graveyards, beaches, piers, mountain access points or other tourist and heritage sites, which are very important in my own remit.

The Department provides an allocation of funding each year to the local authorities for works on these roads. The selection of roads to be funded under the scheme is then a matter for each local authority based on the priority or condition of particular roads in their county. The local authority may rely on existing lists of eligible roads and-or advertise for new applicant roads.

Individual applicants contribute towards the road projects. This can vary from 10% to 15%, depending on how many beneficiaries are on the particular road. This contribution is currently capped at €1,200 but the majority of beneficiary contributions are well below this figure.

Since the LIS was relaunched in its own right in 2017, almost €69 million has been allocated to local authorities for improvement works on these roads. As part of the Our Rural Future policy, the Government has committed to increasing the level of investment in the repair of non-public roads through the local improvement scheme. Given the value of the scheme for people living in rural areas, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, was pleased to be in a position to increase the allocation for the LIS this year. Funding for the scheme in 2021 increased by 5% to €10.5 million, although I accept that is not enough to cover the scale of the challenge we are talking about. Every local authority received an increase in its funding this year.

I confirm that the Minister is exploring the potential to allocate further funding from the scheme in the coming weeks if there are cost savings elsewhere in the Department of Rural and Community Development's budget. The Deputy made a good point about the responsibility and relationship between the three Departments that could share the burden. It will become an increasing challenge. We are dealing with increased weather events due to climate change, with deluges of rain throughout the year. This adds to the pressure on these local roads, especially where road surfaces are washed away, sometimes in a single rainfall incident. There is no doubt that this is a significant challenge and we should look at trying to increase support and funding for this across Government.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate the Minister of State's response. I also appreciate that it is not his primary area of expertise. I think it is pertinent that he is in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. That Department can play an enhanced role, as can the Department of Transport. While the intention was positive, it was quite regressive that the local improvement scheme was moved out of the Department of Transport. It is such a large Department with such a large budget that the scheme could have been better off in that Department. We are where we are today and it is never too late for those three Departments to adopt a collaborative approach, come back together again and do what they can for those local improvement schemes.

Wheelchair users, people trying to push buggies, little children who are trying to learn how to cycle bikes and other people have no way to use the roads that I have seen and helped to repair recently. We have to think about road users who simply cannot avoid the potholes. Some of these roads are peppered with potholes. People with young children and elderly people await funding to improve the roads. I acknowledge the hardship schemes that local authorities have for ambulance access, etc., but there are many similar situations around the country, with vulnerable people with specific health issues. In an emergency, emergency personnel would have a difficult time getting to the location.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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The points about access for services and especially ambulances are important. There has been a 5% increase in the allocation for this year. Approximately 350 projects are expected to be completed this year. That is a significant step forward and we need to ramp that up significantly. I appreciate the points. I will be happy to take the matter to my colleagues in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, especially the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, and to discuss the matter with the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton. The opportunity to look at supports from other Departments should be explored. The Minister intends to try to clear that list. While there have been calls for the scheme to be expanded to other road services such as farm sites, the Minister's current intention is to clear the list, since there is a considerable backlog. We should consider other options to support rural communities to which the Government gave a strong commitment under Our Rural Future.