Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

To clarify, in 2019, Cavan received €269,254, which it has drawn down in full, while Monaghan received €250,000, of which it has drawn down nil. The Senator mentioned Wexford, for which €329,878 was allocated but it has drawn down nothing. While it will probably be drawn down before the end of the year, there is a wide variation in the cost of laying a road per metre within local authorities and we have to streamline it. I agree that it is a fantastic scheme and I believe in it wholeheartedly, as does the Minister, Deputy Ring.

The Senator noted that the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport funded the scheme at one stage. At the Department of Rural and Community Development, we fund the scheme to the best of our ability. In 2019, we gave €10 million; in 2018, €20.8 million; and in 2017, €17.53 million. In total, €48 million has been given from our Department and not a stitch has come from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport for the scheme. Other Departments will have to come up to the mark in respect of roads. I would welcome if people made contact with the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport to ensure we will secure more funding. The reason there is so large a backlog is that for seven or eight years, there was no scheme and the queue of roads built up in every county, as I am acutely aware in Galway East and wider County Galway. When a road is completed, it can make a major, positive impact in the community.