Work on 15 LIS lanes to cost more than €500k

Seamus Enright

Cavan County Council is to seek funding worth in excess of half a million euro for works on 15 laneways under a piloted re-introduction of the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS).

The decision followed tense discussions, and a 40-minute adjournment in Council proceedings at last Monday's monthly meeting, after which elected members in the county finally backed the proposal.
However, it was not without some disagreement on whether the county was selling itself short on the matter, with at least one councillor pointing to the backlog of more than 160 private laneways across the county, some of which have been waiting almost 10 years for work.
Controversially scrapped by Government back in 2011, yet maintained from council coffers for a period when Fine Gael held majority within the chamber, councils nationwide were given a two-week window in which to submit applications following the announcement earlier this month.
To be operated under the auspices of the Department of Rural and Community Development, no indication has been given on how much funding will be made available for the scheme. The only strictures dictated by the Department are based on the level of demand for the scheme, the level of resources available, and the capacity of local authorities to complete their proposed application for works by the end of 2017.
LIS operates with a local contribution set at 10% overall costs for eligible roads with up to and including five residents and at 15% for those with six or more residents.
 

Waiting

The decision to submit five eligible private laneways in each of the three Municipal District Areas - Cavan-Belturbet, Bailieborough-Cootehill, Ballyjamesduff-Virginia – was only finalised after councilllors were appeased by the number increasing initially from nine to 11, and ultimately now 15.
It will now be left to the council's senior executive to return to their area staff in order to identify the extra laneways, some of which have been on a waiting list under LIS since 2007-2008.
According to Director of Services Joe McLoughlin, the cost of completing works on the 11 laneways would have come to a total of €496,000, with €67,000 coming from local contributions.
He had warned, contrary to the argument set out by Fine Gael's Paddy O'Reilly, that to apply for funding for a much greater number would be detrimental in the long-term if the council were to receive funding but fail to meet obligations in carrying out the work.
Mr McLoughlin had stated the council only had capacity to carry out work on 11 lanes by the end of the year, adding that the procurement process to engage third-party contractors to carry out further works would only serve to eat into the short timeframe set out. There was no guarantee that the council would receive funding for all the lanes submitted.
Furthermore, he said the unexpected latest turn of events meant the local authority would be now seeking contributions where they had earlier this year informed laneway dwellers there would not be an LIS in 2017.
 

Danger

Cllr O'Reilly had said the danger was that to submit so few would fail to stress the seriousness of the situation affecting the county, where much industry, particularly agricultural, is located on private rural laneways.
With unanimous agreement for a hike in the number of lanes to be submitted, a stand-off ensued between the councillors and the executive, requiring intervention by CEO Tommy Ryan and Cathaoirleach Paddy McDonald, which eventually led to an adjournment taking place for whips to discuss the matter.
When they returned with agreement reached, some levity returned as Cllr McDonald was credited for his leadership, Cllr Shane P O'Reilly leading the praise by referring to the cathoirleach as the “Ban Ki Moon of Bailieborough”, noting “Kofi Annan wouldn't have a look in.”