Ó Cuív to sign order on Gaeltacht place-names today

Gaeltacht Affairs Minister Éamon Ó Cuív is due to sign an order today preventing the official use of English place-names in Irish-speaking areas.

Under the order, all acts of the Oireachtas, road signs and large-scale ordnance survey maps must use the Irish version of place-names in Gaeltacht areas.

The new measure is due to come into force on March 28. After that date, the English version of place-names in Gaeltacht areas will have no legal effect.

Mr Ó Cuív also plans to make it obligatory for all official documents, maps and signage relating to areas outside the Gaeltacht to include the Irish versions of place-names beside the English versions.