Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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241. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if local authorities are required to re advertise the community involvement scheme every two years, including requesting existing applications to re-apply. [44455/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of each local authority, in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from Councils’ own resources and supplemented by State Road grants. The initial selection and prioritisation of works to be funded is a matter for the local authority.

In 2018, the Department introduced ring-fenced funding for Community Involvement Schemes (CIS). The purpose of the CIS is to facilitate local community participation in the repair of local roads. The focus of the programme is on the repair of more lightly trafficked public roads which might not be high on the list of a local authority's annual roadwork programme. Under the scheme a local community can contribute in money or in kind, for example by making labour or machinery available.

In order to allow for sufficient planning and applications for this scheme, my Department recently invited local authorities to submit applications for Community Involvement Schemes for another two year programme for the period 2026/2027.

The advertising and administration of Community Involvement Schemes is a matter for each local authority.