Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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837. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development to provide a breakdown, per year, of the funding provided under the local improvement scheme, in tabular form. [29232/24]

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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838. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development to provide a breakdown, per county and per year, of the funding provided under the local improvement scheme, in tabular form. [29233/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 837 and 838 together.

The Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) supports improving rural roads and laneways not usually maintained by local authorities. As part of Our Rural Future, the Government is committed to ensuring that LIS is funded into the future.

My Department reintroduced the scheme in 2017 after several years without dedicated funding. Between 2017 and 2024, my Department allocated almost €170 million to local authorities under the scheme. Up to the end of 2023, this has upgraded over 4,000 non-public roads and lanes, benefitting nearly 20,000 landowners and residents in these rural areas.

While significant progress made in recent years, there remains strong demand under the Scheme. With this is in mind and in order to help local authorities better plan their work programmes, this year I have directed additional funding to the LIS and have allocated funding to local authorities for both 2024 and 2025.

The table below sets out the overall funding allocated on a county basis from 2017 - 2025.