€12.5m to upgrade rural roads and laneways

The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys has today (Monday, February 13) announced funding of €12.5 million for repairs and improvement works on rural roads and laneways.

The funding, under the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS), will be focused on non-public roads and lanes which are not normally maintained by the local authorities.

For the first time under the LIS scheme, €500,000 has been allocated to specially improve roads on islands.

The minister said that the investment will help to provide access to homes, farms and outdoor amenities including beaches, lakes and rivers.

Since the reintroduction of the scheme, €112 million has been allocated to local authorities.

Commenting on the funding announcement, Minister Humphreys said:

“Local connectivity is absolutely vital for our rural communities and this investment will benefit the lives of families in every single county.

“We all know parts of rural Ireland that can be difficult to access because the road or laneway is in need of repair.

“Since this scheme was reintroduced in 2017, over 3,700 roads have been funded for repair works. This has made a real difference to the lives of over 16,000 landowners and residents.

“I would urge each local authority to use the funding announced today and complete the repair works on the selected roads as soon as possible,” Minister Humphreys said.

Galway is the county with the highest allocation of €1,204,736, which includes €250,000 for islands such as Inishbofin, Inis Meáin, Inis Oírr and Omey.

This is followed by Co. Cork with €1,065,151 and Mayo on €1,004,736.

The full allocation being given to each county under the LIS for 2023 is set out in the table below: