Local roads scheme in 'need of major review'
Councillors said there are many flaws in the Local Improvement Scheme for roads.
Councillors in the Claremorris and Swinford Municipal District have called for a review of the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS).
LIS is a scheme for carrying out improvement works on private and non-public roads and is subject to several requirements, including that at least two farmers with herd numbers need to use the road to access their land or other farming facilities. In addition, a local contribution of 10% is required for any project.
Mayo County Council senior engineer Conrad Harley told a meeting of Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District that it can be difficult to collect the 10% contributions.
Cllr Damien Ryan suggested the council should have a supplementary list of LIS projects when another scheme falls through because a local contribution is not forthcoming.
Cllr Michael Burke said there should be a two-week deadline for the commitment of a local contribution and if the money is not provided in this time, the scheme should be passed onto another LIS applicant.
Head of the district Padraig Flanagan said the short timeframe in which the scheme operates makes adopting a backup LIS very difficult.
Cllr Patsy O’Brien said the scheme is "too cumbersome" and there is too much red tape around the LIS while Cllr John Caulfield said there is a need to change the criteria around the scheme.
Cllr Gerry Murray said LIS is not fit for purpose currently.
“Once upon a time, funding was €80,000 per councillor. Now, we’re lucky to even get one road done.
“There is a need for a major review of this scheme.”
In response to a query about the council providing material for road maintenance on private roads, Mr Harley said there is a long and rigorous list of criteria that has to be met and added there is a "phenomenal" audit trail associated with these projects.
“When an LIS is audited, for example, we drive out with the LIS auditor. He looks at the full length of the scheme, where it starts and ends, he measures it and to prove the money spent was right, he goes back and inspects every criteria to the nth degree.”
“I’m not in a position to spend our roadworks allocation on roads that haven’t been taken in charge because if we do that, Mayo County Council is responsible and then me and my team are responsible.”
“It can be hard for members of the public to understand that just because we have an allocation of €13 million, we don’t have that to spend.”
