Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 412: To ask the Minister for Transport if he will confirm that it is the practice amongst all local authorities to use a standardised size of road sign for each speed limit category; the size of each sign which applies to each speed limit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20430/06]

Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 420: To ask the Minister for Transport if his attention has been drawn to whether a standardised sized road sign is used for each speed limit category in each local authority area; the size of sign which applies to each speed limit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20429/06]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 412 and 420 together.

Standardised speed limit signs are provided for deployment on a national basis. In January 2005 I made the Road Traffic (Speed Limit — Traffic Signs) Regulations 2005 (S.I. No. 10 of 2005). These Regulations prescribe traffic signs for speed limits of 120, 100, 80, 60, 50 or 30 km/h that road authorities must provide to indicate the speed limit applicable. These Regulations specify the standard dimension for the diameter of the sign plate for each of the six speed limit values in the range mentioned above and the range of alternative dimensions that may be used in respect of each such sign are shown in brackets.

A further element of this traffic sign policy is that where it is desired to repeat the speed limit sign along the length of a road, part, carriageway or lane to which the speed limit applies, the diameter of the sign used for this purpose may be reduced to 450mm or to 300mm. Smaller dimension repeater signs with a 450 millimetres dimension, most commonly displaying 100 km/h, are deployed, for example, in rural areas all along each national primary road and each national secondary road after a junction between that road and a regional or local road.

In November 2005 I made the Road Traffic (Traffic Signs — Periodic Special Speed Limits) Regulations 2005 (S.I. No. 756 of 2005) to prescribe an alternative traffic sign that may be used to indicate that a periodic special speed limit is applied. These Regulations specify a standard dimension 600 millimetres diameter for this particular sign and indicate that an alternative dimension of 750 millimetres may be used.