Funding of €11 million has been secured for repairs and improvement works on our rural roads and laneways, Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, has announced.

The 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.

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.

The 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 2017.

Speaking as she announced the allocation today, 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. Since the scheme was reintroduced in 2017, over, 3,000 roads have been funded for repair works. This has made a real difference to the lives of over 13,000 landowners and residents in rural Ireland. I acknowledge that strong demand for this funding remains across the country. In some counties, local authorities have significant levels of applications on hand. My priority is to continue to fund the works on roads leading to agricultural holdings given their importance for farm families and our agriculture sector."

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Minister Humphreys continued: "I would urge each local authority to utilise the funding announced today, and complete the repair works on the selected roads as soon as possible. I am delighted that the first year of implementing ‘Our Rural Future' has seen great progress across a range of initiatives and supports for rural Ireland. Today's announcement is further evidence of the strong commitment of my Department to making a real difference in rural Ireland."

The allocation to each county under the LIS for 2022 is set out below. Local authorities are responsible for identifying and prioritising roads for improvement works under the scheme, in consultation with residents/landowners.

The funding provided by the Department of Rural and Community Development will be complemented by a local financial contribution from landowners/householders, as well as local authority resources. There will be a cap of €1,200 on the amount that any individual householder or landowner will be asked to contribute towards the cost of repairs to their road.