A Kerry County Councillor has called for the introduction of an emergency funding scheme to improve dangerous rural roads.
Michael Cahill said that the condition of some private roads is impacting the lives of rural dwellers and especially the farming community “who drive these roads several times a day”.
The Fianna Fáil councillor cited a case in a rural part of Co. Kerry where a nurse travelling from Dublin to administer weekly treatment to a patient is being forced to end the service due to the “shocking condition” of the local road.
Rural Roads
“There are hundreds of families in this county who cannot safely access their homes, either by vehicle or on foot. This is disgraceful,” he said
“These people are paying income, motor and property tax to the State and yet they are not entitled to a decent road outside their front door.
“Furthermore, they are on a waiting list that could take fifty, sixty or even seventy years to complete, going by the rate of annual allocation from government.
“These people are sentenced to live along roads that cannot be accessed by car or ambulance, not even a hearse can make their way to collect the remains of the deceased members of their communities.
“This is not civilisation and it must be addressed immediately,” the councillor added.
During a recent meeting of Kerry County Council, Cahill called on Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, to allocate additional funding under the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS).
The scheme supports works on rural roads and laneways which are not normally maintained by local authorities.
Between 2017 and 2021, €80 million in LIS funding has been spent improving 3,000 non-public roads and lanes benefiting 13,300 landowners and residents across rural Ireland.
The base funding for the scheme was increased to €11 million this year.
In a letter to Cllr. Cahill, the Department of Rural and Community Development confirmed that Minister Humphreys has contacted Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan in a bid to secure additional funding for the scheme.
“The minister believes a cross-government approach might reap dividends in dealing with the backlog of applications on hand and she will continue to keep all options open in this regard,” the department spokesperson wrote.
Cahill welcomed the development but reiterated his call for a “hardship and emergency scheme” to be introduced as a matter of priority.