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07/08/2012
Welcome To NI Signs Stolen
The PSNI is investigating the theft of two 'Welcome to Northern Ireland' road signs from County Fermanagh.
It comes a day after a war of words erupted over the signs.
Sinn Fein MLA blasted the decision to put the signs on the border, saying it angered many people in the border area who "suffer the negative impact of partition on a daily basis" and in some cases "are completely opposed to the unnatural division of Ireland".
He also said the signs went against the advice of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, who said they "would not be welcomed and should not be pursued".
Phil Flanagan, who represents Fermanagh and South Tyrone, said the money spent on the signs should be used for road repair and street lights instead.
But regional development minister Danny Kennedy said the signs served to welcome drivers and remind them that they were entering a jurisdiction where speed limits were displayed in miles, not kilometres.
His party colleague Tom Elliott has called on Mr Kennedy's department to replace the signs that were taken from the A34 between Newtownbutler and Clones and from the B36 between Roslea and Monaghan, and they confirmed that the signs will be replaced in due course.
A spokeswoman for the Tourist Board here said: "The responsibility for all road signage sits with Roads Service of the Department for Regional Development. Roads Service has agreed that Welcome to Northern Ireland signs should be considered as part of each council's annual tourism budget."
(NE/GK)
It comes a day after a war of words erupted over the signs.
Sinn Fein MLA blasted the decision to put the signs on the border, saying it angered many people in the border area who "suffer the negative impact of partition on a daily basis" and in some cases "are completely opposed to the unnatural division of Ireland".
He also said the signs went against the advice of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, who said they "would not be welcomed and should not be pursued".
Phil Flanagan, who represents Fermanagh and South Tyrone, said the money spent on the signs should be used for road repair and street lights instead.
But regional development minister Danny Kennedy said the signs served to welcome drivers and remind them that they were entering a jurisdiction where speed limits were displayed in miles, not kilometres.
His party colleague Tom Elliott has called on Mr Kennedy's department to replace the signs that were taken from the A34 between Newtownbutler and Clones and from the B36 between Roslea and Monaghan, and they confirmed that the signs will be replaced in due course.
A spokeswoman for the Tourist Board here said: "The responsibility for all road signage sits with Roads Service of the Department for Regional Development. Roads Service has agreed that Welcome to Northern Ireland signs should be considered as part of each council's annual tourism budget."
(NE/GK)
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