West Belfast Irish language traffic sign trial to cost taxpayer £50,000 during roads funding crisis

The scheme will see signs in both English and Irish built along the Falls Road, and was commissioned by Stormont’s Department for Infrastructure (DfI) – run by Sinn Fein minister, John O’Dowd.

But a DUP MLA has now accused the minister of wasting a five-figure sum while the roads network is facing its worst cash crisis in 25 years, leaving streets all over the province to crumble as vital repairs aren’t carried out.

"This raises serious questions about where the minister’s priorities lie,” said Stephen Dunne.

The bilingual pilot, the first of its kind in Northern Ireland, involves more than 90 new signs as well as a host of repainted road markings along a stretch of the Falls lasting close to one mile.

Most of the signs and markings refer to bus lanes, though some give directions and point to parking facilities.

The scheme has been welcomed by a leading Irish language campaigner as ‘a catalyst for a wider rollout of dual language road signs across Northern Ireland’.

For Mr Dunne, it’s a waste of money at a time the DfI continues to plead poverty when asked to fix Northern Ireland’s damaged roads.

Answering questions from the North Down DUP MLA in the Assembly, Mr O’Dowd confirmed that the pilot will cost around £50,000.

That led an incredulous Mr Dunne to point out that just last week, Stormont’s Infrastructure Committee heard that the roads network across Northern Ireland is facing its biggest funding crisis this century.

"Questions must be asked about whether spending £50,000 to replace perfectly functional traffic signs is a wise use of public money,” he said.

"Changes to street signage in Belfast are already controversial due to their cost. The minister should carefully consider his priorities before committing any additional taxpayer money to further rolling out this scheme.”

When the pilot was announced, Mr O’Dowd praised the bilingual signs as ‘a positive development which demonstrates my support for Irish as a living language used daily’ in the ‘thriving community’ of what has been dubbed Belfast’s Gaeltacht Quarter.

“The Gaeltacht Quarter is an ideal location for this pilot,” he said.

"Traffic signs and road markings in this area will soon be in both Irish and English which will complement the use of these languages by other businesses and organisations in the Gaeltacht Quarter.”

And Piarais Mac Alastair from Belfast-based Irish language agency Forbairt Feirste welcomed the scheme as ‘a positive first step in ensuring that the Irish Language is visible in all our public transport network’.

"We look forward to working with the minister and his department in the coming months and years to further develop this dual language provision,” he added.

The signs and road markings are to be constructed on a stretch of the Falls between its junctions with Springfield Road and Whiterock Road.

The pilot isn’t connected to ongoing drives to have bilingual street names placed around Belfast, which are run by the city’s council.