A new rural road maintenance initiative will give greater power to local authorities on how it spends road grants.

That's according to Galway West TD, Seán Kyne following the announcement of the plan which allows councils to re-focus funding to maintain local roads.

For Galway County Council, it means it now has discretion over 30 percent of its 8.1 million euro allocation - it had been 7 percent.

Meanwhile, the county council is to receive the second highest amount, after Cork, from a new 2.7 million euro fund to improve road drainage.

It now gains over 181 thousand euro to address the issue which can often lead to more serious problems with roads.

Speaking on Galway Talks, Fine Gael TD Sean Kyne says the council now has greater flexibility in allocating road improvement funding