Louth to receive €1 million for Storm Chandra road repairs
Louth is one of nine counties to receive funding under the scheme
Louth is to receive €1 million in Government funding to repair regional and local roads damaged during Storm Chandra earlier this year.
The allocation forms part of a €40 million package announced by Minister for Transport Darragh O'Brien and Ministers of State Seán Canney and Jerry Buttimer to help local authorities restore roads and bridges affected by the severe weather.
Following assessments carried out in March, around 130 roads nationwide were found to require complete reconstruction, while more than 440 roads sustained significant damage. A number of bridges were also damaged and rendered impassable.
Louth's €1 million allocation will enable Louth County Council to carry out repair works on affected regional and local roads across the county.
Announcing the funding, Minister O'Brien said the Government was committed to helping local authorities restore the road network following increasingly frequent extreme weather events.
"I am pleased to announce the provision of €40 million in exceptional additional funding to facilitate the repair of our regional and local roads after the impact of Storm Chandra," he said.
"Extreme weather events leave significant damage in their wake and Government is committed to supporting our local authorities to ensure the condition of our road network is maintained."
Minister of State Seán Canney said protecting and maintaining regional and local roads was essential for road safety and for the people and businesses that rely on them every day.
"The funding provided today will enable our local authorities to carry out the much-needed remediation of storm damage," he said.
Minister of State Jerry Buttimer added that the investment would help keep rural communities connected by allowing priority repairs to be completed as quickly as possible.
Louth is one of nine counties to receive funding under the scheme. The largest allocations go to Wexford (€13.49 million) and Wicklow (€10.72 million), with Waterford receiving €5.53 million. Monaghan has been allocated €900,000.
The additional funding comes on top of the €718 million Regional and Local Roads Grant Programme announced earlier this year, which supports the maintenance and improvement of more than 5,000km of regional and local roads nationwide.