Funding allocated for repair of private roads in Laois
Laois roads leading to rural farms, houses and amenities to avail of fund
Over €500,000 has been allocated to the improvement of non-public roads in Laois.
€561,698 has been allocated for Laois under the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS), which provides funding to help local authorities carry out improvement works on private and non-publicly maintained roads.
This allocation is part of a €14 million fund announced by Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary TD, bringing the overall investment to a record €30 million for the year.
This is the second allocation of funding for Laois under the LIS scheme, with the Government announcing €470,536 earlier this year. This now brings the total to €1,032,234.
Fianna Fáíl Deputy Sean Fleming welcomed this announcement.
"The Local Improvement Scheme is designed to support the improvement of non-public roads in rural communities and improve access to rural homes and farms, as well as outdoor amenities such as our lakes, rivers and mountains," he said.
"This development is delivering on the “Programme for Government Commitment” to increase investment in our rural roads through the Local Improvement Scheme.
"This additional allocation to Laois and other counties is based on each council indicating that they can complete the additional works before the end of this year.
"All in all, this is good news for people living on non-public roads in Laois and I look forward to the works being completed as soon as possible," he finished.
Minister Dara Calleary TD also welcomed this news.
“I am very much aware of the need to support this scheme and the demand that is apparent across our local authorities," the Minister said.
“Over the coming months, my Department officials will work closely with local authorities to ensure that this funding is fully delivered this year to improve our non-public rural roads and laneway
“The Programme for Government commits to increasing the Government’s investment in our rural roads through the Local Improvement Scheme.
"With this additional funding under the Local Improvement Scheme this year, we will have invested almost €184 million in upgrading rural roads and laneways across the country since 2017," he finished.