Cavan has third longest list for laneway fixes

Cavan has the third longest list for fixes to private roads and laneways, approved under the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS).

The county is behind only Donegal (1,415) and Kerry (665) in terms of the number of projects outstanding. At 211, there are six times more roads listed and awaiting works in Cavan than neighbouring Monaghan, according to the latest figures released.

Leitrim has an outstanding list of 166 laneways approved and Longford has 23. Meath only has seven.

Last year counties Cavan and Monaghan received more than 15 per cent between them of a circa €16M national pot made available for local roads under LIS. The funding was administered by the Department of Rural Affairs under local Minister Heather Humphreys.

Cavan received €1.4M or nearly nine per cent of the total, while Monaghan got €1.04M. They were two of only five counties to receive seven-figure funding amounts. The allocation for Cavan saw total investment in local roads of €1.74M in 2023, the most the county has ever received in a given year.

The year before (2022) was Cavan’s best year for fixing rural roads, with works completed on 25 at a cost of €1,273,457. This compared to 22 roads fixed in 2021, four each in 2020 and 2019, 12 in 2018, and 10 in 2017. In 2023 the council fixed 23 laneways.

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan was informed on a recent visit to Cavan that the backlog is now 10 years and growing, and would require investment of tens or millions to remedy.