Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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51. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will consider contributing to the LIS fund to enable cycling on those roads that cannot currently be cycled; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55767/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Local Government Act 2001 provides the statutory basis for the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS). Under that scheme, funding can be provided to local authorities for the construction and improvement of non-public roads (that is roads not taken in charge by local authorities) which meet the criteria set out in the Act.

In September 2017, the Minister for Rural and Community Development reintroduced dedicated funding for the LIS and is continuing to fund the scheme. In light of the significant funding being put into LIS by the Department of Rural and Community Development there are no plans for my Department to contribute to this fund to enable cycling on roads that cannot currently be cycled.

Department of Transport funding for walking and cycling infrastructure is administered through the National Transport Authority (NTA) and in the case of Greenways, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). Investment in such projects in 2023 will total over €360 million. Local Authorities are free to approach either agency with proposed cycling infrastructure projects and it is the responsibility of those agencies to allocate the overall budget to each Local Authority based on projects selected for investment.