Joe O'Toole (Independent)

Some months ago the people of Dingle held a referendum resulting in them asking that the name of their town be changed to Dingle-Daingean Uí Chúis. The local authority, Kerry County Council, conveyed that overwhelming decision of the people of Dingle to the Government, which promised to deal with it. The Government has not done anything about it in the meantime. I heard on Raidió na Gaeltachta le déanaí an tAire á rá dá mba rud é go mbeadh an moladh ann logainm an bhaile a athrú go Dingle that he could accommodate them. However, the bilingual version, Dingle-Daingean Uí Chúis, would not be accepted. I find the Minister's decision extraordinary because I discovered driving through his constituency that all the towns of Gaeltacht areas in County Galway are signposted bilingually with both names, as should be the case.

There is absolute discrimination against west Kerry on this issue. The Government is treating the people unfairly and should take its decision on the matter. The Minister for the Environment and Local Government (Performance of Certain Functions) Act 2002 should be fully commenced. If it had been commenced by now the row would not have happened and the people could make up their own minds and the decision would be implemented without reference to the Government. The Government should deal with the issue or else the people of Dingle should erect proper signposts. At a conference yesterday in response to hoteliers from the west Kerry area expressing their concern to him, the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism said he did not expect the town to lose any business on the basis of the name. We need to deal with the issue and I ask the Acting Leader to raise it with the Government.