Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport when he expects to introduce a community roads scheme; if he envisages that there will be a change in the eligibility criteria for the scheme, that is, an increased local contribution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5103/13]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of each local authority, in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from local authorities own resources supplemented by State road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is also a matter for the local authority.

In previous years, local authorities were permitted to set aside up to 7.5% of their Restoration Programme grants for Community Involvement Scheme works on regional and local roads.  Under that scheme the community contribution (in money or in kind), could not be less than 25% of the cost of the works. In practice such works were usually only carried out on cul-de-sac local tertiary roads.

This year my Department is launching a new pilot Community Involvement Scheme.  This new scheme will be based on contributions within the range of 20% to 50%.  Local authorities will be invited shortly to apply to my Department for funding under the 2013 Community Involvement Scheme.