merrion street

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross, today announced details of a two year €23 million Community Involvement Grant Programme for regional and local roads.

Minister Ross said:

When I announced the regional and local road grants in January I initially ring-fenced funding of €10 million for Community Involvement Schemes in 2018. However, in view of the strength of the response, and the evident need in many areas, I am delighted to provide funding of up to €23.1 million over a two year period. This will allow a greater number of projects to go ahead and give local authorities more flexibility in delivering this programme.

Based on an average 19% contribution rate, this will allow work with a value of €28.5 million to be undertaken. These works will be of immense benefit to local communities up and down Ireland, and underpins my commitment to enhancing and supporting vibrant community projects, particularly in rural Ireland.

Applications were sought from local authorities for suitable schemes for inclusion and the response from local authorities was very positive with a large number of proposals received. The average community contribution proposed is about 19%. The community input can be either by way of a financial contribution or works.

In the normal course of a Council’s road works programme, repairs to minor county roads would only be considered towards the end of the programme after more heavily trafficked routes had been dealt with and the purpose of the Community Involvement Scheme is to facilitate local participation in the repair of roads so as to allow improvements to be made sooner than might otherwise be the case.

The Community Involvement Programme will allow a wide range of works to be undertaken on regional and local roads. The proposed works include general works such as providing hard standing material at field entrances or removal of banks at the edge of a road, drainage works, road surface strengthening and repair works, the repair and construction of footways, the improvement of sight lines, the easing of bends and the provision of passing bays.

The Minister concluded:

 I know that the fabric of the regional and local road network has suffered because of funding constraints in recent years and this has impacted particularly on more lightly trafficked roads. I         hope that this scheme will allow local authorities and communities to work together to achieve tangible improvements and I look forward to seeing the results of their combined efforts.