Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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624. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the amount of expenditure that has been incurred to date under the moneys sanctioned by him by each local authority on the local improvement scheme; the amount of funding including pre-funding paid to each local authority under the scheme; the latest date given to local authorities to have the work completed and appropriate certification made available to his Department in the case of pre-funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50159/18]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Local Improvement Scheme, or LIS, is a programme for improvement works on small private or non-public roads in predominantly rural areas. The scheme is funded by my Department and administered through the Local Authorities.

I re-launched the scheme in September 2017, following a number of years when no dedicated LIS funding was available. I allocated a total of €17.4 million to Local Authorities under two tranches of LIS funding in 2017, and details of these allocations are available on my Department's website, www.drcd.gov.ie. Payments were made to the Local Authorities on the basis that they could draw down their funding once 50% of their projects were completed and that the remaining works would be substantially completed by the end of 2017.

I allocated an initial sum of €10.8 million to Local Authorities across the country in February this year under the 2018 LIS, and it is this funding that I presume the Deputy refers to specifically in his question. Funding was allocated on the basis that payments would be made in arrears, on completion of the projects in question.

As of 28 November, a total of €10,007,575 has been paid in respect of this round of funding to Local Authorities on foot of certification of completion of works.

On 26 October, I announced a further round of LIS funding, with an allocation of almost €10 million to Local Authorities, based on their capacity to have the additional works substantially completed by the end of the year. No payments have issued in respect of Round 2 allocations to date.

LIS 2018