Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise a point that came to mind as I travelled the country during the Seanad election campaign. It is a bugbear of mine. It might seem small, but not with regard to the promotion of tourism. The directional road signs in Ireland are atrocious. Unless one has a satnav, one cannot find the areas we should be marketing as tourism attractions. Will the Leader and the Cathaoirleach ask the relevant Minister, in either the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport or the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, to instigate an audit of road signs throughout Ireland, particularly small road signs?

Ireland has probably the best tourist destinations, but that is no good unless one can find them. Members will be aware from the Seanad election campaign that the satnav does not always work. There should be good, old-fashioned signs. Perhaps we could learn from the French. When one arrives in a village or town, one should be sent to its centre and see signs to wherever one wishes to go. When travelling in Ireland one might be going to a town that is, perhaps, ten miles down the road, but its name is not given on the sign while the name of the town five miles further on is on it. This is basic. There is a need to conduct a simple, proper audit of road signs throughout the country to ensure we can market Ireland in the best possible light.

There is another aspect to this.IDA Ireland brings prospective employers to various parts of the country and Enterprise Ireland wants people to locate in rural villages. I represent an area which is both urban and rural and we need to be able to find a place. Good old fashioned signs are still as important as they were 20 or 30 years ago, in the pre-satellite navigation era. This may seem to be a very simple matter but it could yield an enormous dividend from a tourism, business and personal perspective. I ask that the Minister be invited to the House to discuss this matter and that an audit such as that to which I refer be carried out.