Over €1.2million for rural laneways in Offaly 2024

Today’s announcement of €560,000 additional LIS allocation to upgrade rural laneways shows this Government’s commitment to rural Ireland.  

This year Offaly will receive €1,264,386 for the repairs and improvement works on non-public rural roads and laneways. That is an increase of €560,000 on last year. This is a fund available to homeowners and farmers who are connected by private roads and laneways which the Local Authority do not usually maintain but where safe access is vital to daily life and work.

Changes to the criteria for an application, where only one herd number is now required, will broaden the eligibility to more rural households and is a very welcome development. Climate change is already impacting negatively on road infrastructure in Offaly and the unpredictable weather is causing problems for all outdoor workplans.

This extra allocation, and flexibility in the timeframe for drawing it down, is proof positive that this Government is listening to feedback and responding to these challenges.

Speaking from a local rural laneway that recieved funding under this scheme,

Cllr Mark Hackett said;

Our neighbours availed of the LIS / rural laneway scheme in recent years. About 9 houses or farms use a local lane and we each made a small contribution to the Council who completed a fantastic job. This scheme works for rural communities.

Watch the full video here; Facebook

The Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) was reintroduced in September 2017 and over €130 million has already been provided for works on over 4,000 roads. The additional funding announced today will bring that total to over €170 million.

Local authorities are responsible for identifying and prioritising roads for improvement works under the scheme, in consultation with residents/landowners. 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. 

Eligible Roads

Eligible roads under the Local Improvement Scheme are:

• non-public roads that provide access to parcels of land of which at least 2 are owned or occupied by different persons, one of which must be for agricultural/harvesting purposes;

• provide access for agricultural / harvesting purposes (including turf or seaweed) for two or more persons.; or

• non-public roads leading to important community amenities such as graveyards, beaches, piers, mountains, etc. 

Non Eligible Roads

Non-eligible roads include:

• Roads leading to commercial enterprises

Local contribution

The financial contribution provided by the household/landowner is set at:

• 10% of the estimated cost for eligible roads with up to and including five households/landowners, and 

• 15% for those roads with six or more households/landowners.

The maximum amount that any household/landowner is required to contribute is capped at €1,200.