Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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23. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the way applications under the local improvement scheme will be expedited considering the backlog of work that local authorities are dealing with. [27672/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) supports the improvement of rural roads and laneways that are not normally maintained by local authorities.  As part of Our Rural Future, the Government is committed to ensuring that the Scheme is funded into the future.

LIS was reintroduced in 2017 following a number of years with no dedicated funding in place. The Scheme is administered locally by the relevant local authority, which is responsible for prioritising and selecting eligible applications within broad parameters set by my Department. Following the launch of the LIS with the confirmation of county allocations, each local authority submits a priority list of roads, as well as a reserve list to my Department before works commence locally.

From 2017 to 2021, my Department allocated €80 million towards improvement works on over 3,000 non-public roads and lanes benefiting over 13,300 landowners and residents in these rural areas. I was pleased, as part of Budget 2022, to announce an increase in the base funding for LIS from €10.5 million to €11 million this year.

I announced details of the 2022 Scheme in early April and approvals have now issued for works to commence. Last year, I was in a position to double the initial LIS allocation to €21 million following the identification of savings in other capital areas. This year, I am continuing to closely monitor expenditure patterns and my Department is liaising closely with local authorities on their work programmes. Should savings emerge, I will give consideration to again allocating additional funding to the scheme.