The following motion in the name of Councillor D. Healy was proposed by Councillor D. Healy, seconded by Councillor J.Corr:

That the Council adopt the following signage policy to apply to all new or replacement signs commissioned from 1^st June 2007 onwards:

(a) any sign placed by Fingal County Council at any location shall be in the Irish language or in the Irish and English languages;

(b) where the Council is of the opinion that, by reason of its containing text in both such languages the sign

(i) would be unduly big,

(ii) would be difficult to read,

(iii) could cause an obstruction, or

(iv) persons would, while reading it, cause a danger to themselves or others (in the case of a proposal to place a sign at the side of or near a road),

the Council  may, instead, place 2 signs at that location, one containing the text concerned in the Irish language and the other containing the text concerned in the English language;

(c) where the Council proposes to erect not less than 20 identical signs, the Council may place

(i) signs in the Irish language,

(ii) signs in the Irish and English languages,

(iii) 2 signs, one in the Irish language and one in the English language in each location;

(d) notwithstanding the generality above, a public body may erect signs that are in compliance with the International System of Units as adopted by the Bureau Internationale des poids et mesures, established by the Metre Convention signed at Paris in 1875;

(e) the following provisions shall apply to a sign in the Irish and English languages placed by the Council:

(i) the text in the Irish language shall appear first,

(ii) the text in the Irish language shall not be less prominent, visible or legible than the text in the English language,

(iii) the lettering of the text in the Irish language shall not be smaller in size than the lettering of the text in the English language,

(iv) the text in the Irish language shall communicate the same information as is communicated by the text in the English language, and

(v) a word in the text in the Irish language shall not be abbreviated unless the word in the text in the English language, of which it is the translation, is also abbreviated.

The following report by the Manager was read:

The implications of the adoption of this Motion are as follows:

(a)               any sign placed by Fingal County Council at any location shall be in the Irish language or in the Irish and English languages;

This is effectively a default in favour of the Irish language in every case and would apply universally to signs of all types, including interactive signs to alert the public to avoid traffic delays and accidents and the like and those signs used to alert to an emergency.

(b) where the Council is of the opinion that, by reason of its containing text in both such languages the sign

(i) would be unduly big,

(ii) would be difficult to read,

(iii) could cause an obstruction, or

(iv) persons would, while reading it, cause a danger to themselves or others (in the case of a proposal to place a sign at the side of or near a road),

the Council  may, instead, place 2 signs at that location, one containing the text concerned in the Irish language and the other containing the text concerned in the English language;

Whereas the intention is clear here to provide 2 signs where one would be a problem by virtue of local conditions, these definitions of exceptions are imprecise and open to interpretation.

(c) where the Council proposes to erect not less than 20 identical signs, the Council may place

(i) signs in the Irish language,

(ii) signs in the Irish and English languages,

(iii) 2 signs, one in the Irish language and one in the English language in each location;

The intention behind this provision is unclear as is the reason for choosing 20 as the number that would trigger its requirement.

(d) notwithstanding the generality above, a public body may erect signs that are in compliance with the International System of Units as adopted by the Bureau Internationale des poids et mesures, established by the Metre Convention signed at Paris in 1875;

This is the requirement to display distances etc in the Metric system and is a requirement of these kind of signs in any event.

(e) the following provisions shall apply to a sign in the Irish and English languages placed by the Council:

(i) the text in the Irish language shall appear first,

(ii) the text in the Irish language shall not be less prominent, visible or legible than the text in the English language,

(iii) the lettering of the text in the Irish language shall not be smaller in size than the lettering of the text in the English language,

(iv) the text in the Irish language shall communicate the same information as is communicated by the text in the English language, and

(v) a word in the text in the Irish language shall not be abbreviated unless the word in the text in the English language, of which it is the translation, is also abbreviated.

Both the Dept of the Environment and the Dept of Arts Sports and Tourism have expressed aims towards the modification and revision of signage policy. Neither has published any guidelines on how this might be achieved. Failte Ireland in its recently published Tourism Product Development Strategy 2007 2013 has identified signage as a primary issue in need of reform and imply some rationalisation in respect of how this might be achieved.

It is acknowledged that urgent reform is necessary in this area and the integration of the Irish language more effectively than has been the case to date should be an aim of such reform measures.

Whether it is wise in the current scenario to embark on a unilateral course of action in relation to signage is doubtful It is advised that the Council withhold action on the measures proposed at least until a clearer understanding of timescale on behalf of national agencies or government action is understood.

Following a prolonged discussion on this item it was agreed that the matter be referred to the Transportation Strategic Policy Committee. The Managers report was then noted.