Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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195. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development when he plans to make an allocation for the local improvement scheme for 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5907/19]

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 rural areas. As the Deputy may be aware, there was no dedicated funding for this scheme for a number of years due to constraints on public expenditure. However, I was very conscious of the underlying demand for the scheme in rural areas throughout the country and I reintroduced the LIS in September 2017 and allocated a total of €17.4 million to Local Authorities for LIS roads that year.

In 2018, I allocated almost €21 million for LIS roads in two phases.

It is clear that there is a continuing demand for LIS funding in rural communities across Ireland, and I have therefore secured an allocation of €10 million for the scheme in my Department's Vote for 2019. Details regarding the 2019 Local Improvement Scheme will be available shortly.