Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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682. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will report on the community involvement scheme introduced in 2013; the uptake of the scheme; and if a similar investment project would be considered for footpath projects. [6906/14]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads (including footpaths) in its area, is a statutory function of each road authority in accordance with the provisions of section 13 of the Roads Act, 1993.  Works on such roads are a matter for the relevant local authority to be funded from its 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.  

My Department launched a pilot Community Involvement Scheme (CIS) in 2013 for works on regional and local roads.  The scheme was aimed at works on local roads which would usually only be considered for funding towards the end of a Council’s road programme after more heavily trafficked routes had been dealt with.  This is a voluntary scheme and is based on community contributions within the range of 20% to 50%.  

It is proposed to give the previously committed CIS amounts for 2014 to a number of local authorities. Following a review of the pilot CIS programme, consideration will be given as to whether further CIS grants are allocated in 2014. While the grant is primarily aimed at improving road surface and drainage, improvements to footpaths can also be considered as part of the proposed works.