Over €900K for repairs to private lanes

More than €900,000 has been awarded to counties Cavan and Monaghan under the Local Improvement Scheme as part of €17.6M allocated nationwide today.

The Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary approved €527,400 for County Cavan and €385,880 for County Monaghan for repairs and improvement works on private laneways and cul de sacs under the scheme.

Cavan Monaghan Fianna Fáil TD Brendan Smith has welcomed the news saying that the scheme provides vital infrastructure to allow people access homes, farms and businesses in rural Ireland.

"The Local Improvement Scheme is extremely important for many families living in rural areas. Indeed it is a scheme that needs more investment as there were a number of years when there was very little funding provided for these essential road works," he said.

Under the scheme, residents and landowners living along the lanes must contribute 10%–15% of the total project cost upfront. This is typically capped at €1,200 per household.

A backlog, however, exists in many counties nationwide. It goes back to 2012 when funding for the scheme was halted as a result of the recession and public roads were prioritised.

The scheme was subsequently reintroduced in 2017. Since then, over €201M has been allocated to local authorities for projects under the scheme.

Some local authorities, however, stopped taking applications until the backlog is cleared. This is not the case in Cavan and Monaghan.

In August 2025, there were 279 projects in County Cavan approved and waiting funding. The local authority estimated, at that point, that it would take around €12M to clear the backlog.

Welcoming the latest funding, Minister Calleary said: “It’s a fantastic scheme under which the homeowners and farmers who use the lane make a small local contribution and the Government provides the balance of funding to ensure that people can continue to access their homes and farms on good quality surfaces.”

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