“From a Leitrim point of view, it’s not nearly enough”

Extra funding for Local Involvement Schemes (LIS) is a step in the right direction, but doesn't go far enough, said Cllr Frank Dolan at a meeting of the Manorhamilton Municipal District last Monday.

He was speaking after from a response from Heather Humphreys TD Minister for Rural and Community Development was read out at the meeting in response to a motion put forward by himself.

The response noted that a second round of funding of almost €16m was allocated this summer, of which €831,183 was allocated to Leitrim County Council with a total of €1,135,919 allocated to Leitrim County Council for 2023 under the Local Improvement Scheme.

The response continued that recent engagement with the Department has indicated that a grant requirement of approximately €9.7m would complete 182 eligible LIS roads. Indication was also given that there was a capacity to deliver 23 additional schemes in 2023 with an estimated grant requirement of around €1.2m should additional funding become available in 2023.

However, Cllr Dolan said that “from a Leitrim point of view, that's not nearly enough” as costs have risen exponentially over the last number of years.

“Even though what the response says sounds good, it's not nearly enough and we need a decent tranche of money to deal with this.”