Fine Gael TD for Limerick, Patrick O’Donovan, has today (Monday) welcomed the allocation of €370,000 by the Department of Transport for maintaining and repairing roads in Limerick. This pilot scheme, which is being rolled out nationally, will see direct community input into necessary road maintenance projects through the provision of labour, machinery or additional funding.
“I welcome the announcement by the Minister of State for Transport, Alan Kelly TD, of the Community Involvement Scheme which gives the authority to local communities to prioritise road maintenance and improvement projects. €370,000 has been allocated by the Department of Transport to Limerick to improve 22 projects, which covers over 12 kilometres.
“While the Department is providing €370,000 in funding, the total value of the proposed works is over €463,000; the community will make up the remainder of the funding required by providing labour, machinery or other forms of benefit.
“Given the difficult economic climate, local authorities have a limited budget within which to repair and maintain roads across Limerick. The priority of a local authority’s repair programme tends to be on maintaining the main roads in the county. However, the Community Involvement Scheme gives the power to local communities in Limerick to identify lesser trafficked roads that need to be repaired or maintained which would not usually be considered for funding.
“The Community Involvement Scheme is a prime example of how this Government is achieving more with less by introducing innovative ways of getting the country back on its feet.”