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TWELVE more roads in the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council area are to get Irish language street signs – at a cost of £26,000 to ratepayers.
This will bring to £81,000 the amount the council has set aside this year so far for new dual language road signs.
People living on 14 roads in the Omagh and Carrickmore areas were contacted recently by the council after applications were made to have new dual language signs erected on their streets.
Such applications can be made by a resident of an area, a local councillor or a property developer.
For the signs to be erected, at least 15% of residents living in the area who respond to a council survey must be in support of the new signs.
While this threshold was met for 12 of the roads put forward in the new applications, the response from residents on the other two roads did not meet the 15% threshold.
The council has now recommended erecting the new Irish language signs on the 12 roads where the threshold was met.
The roads where the new proposed signs will be erected are Magheraliss Road, Lenamore Road, Carraig Drive, Creggan Road, Aghagogan Park, Ardtearmann, McKeowne Villas, Rockstown Road, Termon Crescent, Termon Road, Main Street (Carrickmore) and Aghnagreggan Road.
The two roads where not enough residents were in support of the proposed Irish language signs were Carraig Bheag and Chapel View.
A report on the latest dual language sign applications is due to be discussed at a meeting this evening of the council’s Environmental Services committee.
If the recommendation is approved at the meeting, there will be 52 new signs erected along the 12 roads, at a cost of £500 per sign.
One of the roads, Creggan Road, is set to get 15 Irish language road signs.
The report before this evening’s meeting stated the council approved a budget of £150,000 in February 2024 for the 2024/25 financial year for the installation of dual language signage.
So far this year, the council has approved spending £55,000 on new Irish language signs, separate from the £26,000 which was expected to be approved at last night’s meeting.
The council’s £150,000 budget also covers the cost of replacement of damaged signs.
Last year, the BBC revealed the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council area has seen a large number of vandalism attacks on Irish language signs over the past five years.
There have been a total of 300 attacks on such signs recorded across the North since 2020.
