Rural Kildare residents are set to benefit from €250,000 funding for local access roads, according to Fine Gael TD for Kildare South and Chairman of the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party, Martin Heydon.
The funding provided through the Local Improvement Scheme helps improve people’s quality of life in rural areas.
Deputy Heydon said: “This scheme continues to be a lifeline for people living in rural areas because it directly improves their access to and from their homes and farms.
“It’s important to remember that many people living in rural areas use these roads every day, so when these roads fall into disrepair, it has a significant impact on them.
“By investing in the improvement of these roads we are helping to improve people’s quality of life in Kildare.
“The upkeep of these roads is a priority for people who live in Kildareand this funding, in conjunction with the local community’s own resources and the resources of Kildare County Council will allow for the maintenance and improvement of many local roads in rural areas.
“Local Authorities are still completing projects approved under the last round of funding in October 2018, and now Fine Gael in Government is announcing additional funding for the scheme in 2019.
“I am also conscious of the high cost of repairing some of the more remote rural roads and the impact this can have on the contribution which people living and farming along those roads can be asked to make.
“As part of the scheme in 2019, a cap of €1,200 is being placed on the amount that any individual householder or landowner will be asked to contribute towards the cost of repairs.
“This small but important change to the scheme will, I hope, facilitate the improvement of some of the more remote and sparsely populated roads in rural parts of Kildare.
“I cannot overstate how important local connectivity is in order to enable rural Ireland to function well. The Action Plan for Rural Development prioritises the improvement of rural infrastructure and connectivity and continuing to support and develop an LIS scheme is just one of the measures we are taking in that regard.”
Minister for Rural & Community Development, Michael Ring, said: “The scheme, since I reintroduced it in 2017, has been a great success and I continue to receive an unprecedented amount of positive feedback in relation to it.
“There was no dedicated funding for the LIS for a number of years, so there is significant built up demand for investment in these roads which I am committed to meeting.”