Midlands Counties In The Mix For €10.5 Million Roads Fund

Thursday, 15 July 2021 13:11

Minister for Rural Development, Heather Humphreys announced the additional funds for Local Improvement Schemes today.

A midlands Councillor is determined that county Laois get its fair share of €10.5 million for local roads.

Minister for Rural Development, Heather Humphreys announced the additional funds for Local Improvement Schemes, which will be distributed according to demand nationwide.

This will be a welcome addition to the €270,000 already spent on road repairs and improvement in the county this year.

Commenting on today's announcement, Cathaoirleach of Laois County Council, Borris-in-Ossory's Conor Bergin had this to say:

''Today's announcement by Minister Heather Humphreys is great news for County Laois. The urgent need for additional funding for rural roads in Laois is an issue that is raised at virtually every monthly meeting of Laois County Council and the subject of numerous notices of motion at our Municipal District meetings. I have spoken with local Fine Gael TD Charlie Flanagan who has been in contact with Minister Humphreys on this issue.

''I understand the Department will engage with Laois County Council to establish the level of demand that can be met in County Laois before year end. Once that process is complete, The Minister will announce the specific allocations to be provided to each County from this increased funding. I am determined that County Laois must get its fair share of this €10.5 million which has been announced nationally.

''As Cathaoirleach of Laois County Council I will be advocating with the management of the Council to ensure that we put the best case forward to secure additional funding and that this money is spent to deliver the maximum benefit for rural Laois roads and the many families, in particular farming families who depend on them.

''Any applications are dealt with strictly in order of date of application, in order to ensure that the distribution of the funding is fair to all applicants. This means that applicants who are the longest time on the waiting list will be offered the grant firstly, and so on working in chronological order.

''There is a significant backlog of applications for Local Improvement Schemes in Laois County Council, some of which are going back almost a decade and I am hopeful that this extra funding can now be utilised to begin to clear this waiting list."