Funding welcomed for Kilkenny roads under LIS scheme

An €11 million investment has been announced for the upgrading of rural roads and laneways - a package which will improve access to homes, farms and outdoor amenities across the country.

The spending was announced by Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD.

“This funding, under the Minister’s Local Improvement Scheme (LIS), will support the continued improvement of non-public roads and lanes that are not normally maintained by the local authorities,” local TD John Paul Phelan says.

“Such roads represent a vital piece of infrastructure for rural residents - providing access to people’s homes and farms, as well as outdoor amenities such as lakes, rivers or beaches.

“This funding represents an increase of €500,000 on the initial 2021 allocation, with each county receiving an increase in their allocation accordingly. With this additional funding, over €90 million has now been allocated to local authorities under the Local Improvement Scheme since it was re-introduced in 2017.

Announcing the allocation, Minister Humphreys said: “I’m pleased to announce €11 million in funding which will improve hundreds of our rural roads and laneways across the country.

“Local connectivity is vital for rural communities. Our Rural Future clearly recognises this. The Local Improvement Scheme is an important source of funding for small non-public roads and laneways leading to homes and farms or to amenities such as lakes, rivers and beaches.”

Minister Humphreys urged each local authority to use the funding and complete the repair works on the selected roads as soon as possible.