Record €30m spent in 2025 to repair rural Cork roads and lanes

A record spend of €30m during 2025 for the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) will provide a major boost for rural communities, a Cork TD has said.

The LIS supports the improvement of rural roads and laneways that are not normally maintained by local authorities, but are vital to the lives of many who live or travel these roads daily.

Since the re-establishment of the scheme in 2017, the Government has invested €184m nationwide, enabling improvement works on 5,000 rural roads.

Under the 2025 scheme, Cork County Council received €2.33m, bringing its total LIS funding since 2017 to €14.15m — the second-highest allocation to any local authority in the country.

Once the annual allocations are set on a county-by-county basis, individual local authorities then have full discretion to decide which roads and laneways are prioritised for improvement each year.

Fine Gael TD for Cork North West John Paul O’Shea said: “The spend for 2025 of €30m — the highest annual LIS investment to date — reflects the Government’s strong commitment to supporting rural communities.

“Many families, farmers, and rural dwellers rely on these smaller local roads every single day, and for too long they fell outside normal council maintenance schedules. The investment made since 2017 has already transformed thousands of rural roads, and the €2.33m allocated to Cork for 2025 has allowed further progress.”

His party colleague, Mallow councillor Tony O’Shea, added: “Across North Cork, I can see how important this scheme is to rural residents.

“Roads and laneways that were in very poor condition for years are now being upgraded, making them safer and far more accessible for the people who depend on them daily.”