Kilkenny County Council has been allocated a total of €1,304,899 as part of the Governments LIS allocation to upgrade rural laneways according to local Councillor Andrew McGuinness.
The funding was announced last Tuesday morning by Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, as part of a €40 million package for local authorities throughout the country.
Welcoming the news, Councillor Andrew McGuinness said, “this is very positive news for Kilkenny as it will fund repairs and improvement works on non-public rural roads and laneways that badly need upgrading.
“It will help rural homeowners who live and work on private lanes that are not maintained by the local authority to access their homes and farms on good quality, safe surfaces. The upkeep of private lanes is an issue for many local farmers and residents and can often be very costly and unaffordable so this funding will be a great help in upgrading that vital road infrastructure in rural Kilkenny,” he said.
This announcement brings to a total of almost €170 million that has been allocated to local authorities under the Scheme since it was re-introduced in 2017. The allocation of funds is for works to be carried out across 2024 and 2025 on roads not normally maintained by the local authorities.
Making the announcement, Minister Humphreys said, “It’s a fantastic scheme under which the homeowners and farmers who use the lanes make a small local contribution and the Government provides the balance of funding to ensure that people can access their homes and farms on good quality surfaces.
“I am also amending the LIS criteria so that only one herd number will be required for a valid LIS application. Up to now, two herd numbers were required to be using the lane. I am making this change in response to feedback that I have received from local representatives and it will ensure that more families can now qualify for the scheme.
“I am also aware that Local Authorities need to carry out LIS works when weather conditions are favourable. In recognition of this and in order to help local authorities better plan their work programmes, I am providing greater flexibility so that Local Authorities can use their allocation throughout 2024 and 2025.
