Beggs rejects DRD bilingual sign plans

The DRD Minister identified the plans as a way of promoting minority languages under European Charter obligations.

Cllr Beggs commented: “There will be additional costs to Councils, the NI Tourist Board and to the Education budget. Given that reflective signage costs hundreds of pounds per square metre, this proposal will result in diverting significant additional public funding from frontline services at a time of financial pressures.

“This is not generating a shared future but a wasteful future. It seems to me that the Minister is more interested in promoting the Irish language than efficient road signage. These signs may also result in members of the community not feeling welcome in areas in which they live or travel through. Public money should not be used in this way.”