The Department of Rural and Community Development has announced that €11 million has been set aside to carry out upgrades and repairs to rural roads and laneways. The aim of the funding is to improve access to homes, farms and outdoor amenities. The department says that this year’s funding is a €500,000 increase on the funding announced for 2021.
The announcement made today, 5 April states that funding is earmarked for improvements of non-public roads and lanes that are not normally maintained by the local authorities. Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys 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.”
It brings to over €90 million the total funding granted to local authorities under the Local Improvement Scheme since 2017. In addition to this, each local authority that will receive funding has also seen an increase in its allocation for rural roads in their jurisdictions.
“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,” says Minister Humphreys.
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.