asked the Minister for Finance if he will arrange to have Ordance Survey maps printed with proper place names in Irish in order to facilitate the erection in the Gaeltacht of road signs in Irish.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Place Names in Irish
10.
The Ordnance Survey have a general map of Ireland at a scale of 9 miles to 1 inch printed entirely in Irish. In addition the ½ inch map, which is the basic small scale map of 25 different regions of Ireland, shows many administrative names both in Irish and English. I might add that the Irish version of place names is also listed in the Place-Names (Irish Forms) (No. 1) (Postal Towns) Order, 1975 and, where locations are not listed, recourse is made to the Place-Names Commission to ascertain the official Irish version when signposting schemes for national roads are submitted for approval by local authorities to the Minister for the Environment.
Has the Minister any responsibility for road signs at the entrances to towns or signs indicating the directions and mileages on the roads pointing towards towns?
No. That is a matter for the Minister for the Environment.
Would the Minister agree that it would be desirable that, as a minimal, ½ inch maps in Irish exclusively should be provided for the parts of the country which include Gaeltacht areas?
Already a mapping programme of detailed bi-lingual maps is in progress and some detailed bi-lingual maps of certain parts of the country have been published. The long-term goal is the production of a detailed bi-lingual map of the country as a whole.
What scale?
I am afraid I do not have the scale but I will let the Deputy know.
That would be the point of the question. Unless they are fairly small scale maps they would not be of value.
I take it they are small scale, but I will let the Deputy know.