Kerry County Council plans to improve 37 roads on the Local Improvement Scheme waiting list with government funding allocated up to the end of 2025.
The council provided an update on its planned works to improve roads and laneways under the scheme at this month’s meeting.
It’s planned that 26 roads will be upgraded under the funding this year, and eleven will be completed next year.
The focus of the Local Improvement Scheme is on upgrading rural laneways and non-public roads which provide access to homes, farms and outdoor amenities, and are not normally maintained by local authorities.
Last month, Kerry County Council was allocated over €2.5 million to upgrade rural lanes and roadways under the Local Improvement Scheme, but the funding covers 2024 and 2025.
At this month’s council meeting, CEO Moira Murrell said 37 roads will be completed with the funding across this year and next.
€1.5 million will allow for 26 road schemes to be progressed, and €1 million will progress a further 11 roads next year.
As of October last year, there were 673 roads awaiting LIS funding in Kerry.
In response to a motion from Independent councillor Jackie Healy-Rae, the council provided a breakdown of the exact road schemes that will be progressed in 2024 and 2025 using this funding.
Cllr Healy-Rae said the funding announcement covering two years was the biggest con job he had ever seen, inferring that Kerry was benefitting from increased funding.
Cllr Healy-Rae, and Fine Gael councillor Michael Foley both said that Kerry County Council is not getting bang for its buck in terms of the number of roads being completed.
CEO Moira Murrell said road length, rather than the number of roads, is a better measure of the council’s works, and its delivery per kilometre compares very well with other counties.
A full list of roads to be progressed is available below.
