No legal framework to allow renaming of stretch of road

Proposals to “officially rename” a stretch of the Old Blessington Road to Main Street cannot go ahead as there is currently no legal framework for name changing proposals.

A plebiscite must be carried out as part of name-changing proposals, but there is no legal basis for such plebiscites due to updates to current legislation.

Cllr Adam Smyth (FF) brought a motion to the council “at the request of Tallaght Community Council” to officially rename a stretch of road “from 519 Main Street to New Bancroft Apts at the crossroads” as Main Street.

Speaking at the Tallaght Area Committee meeting on December 15, Cllr Smyth said the renaming request was about “bringing clarity to the naming of Tallaght Village”.

“The names of the signs don’t necessarily match the names that it’s known as locally,” he noted.

In response to Cllr Smyth’s motion, SDCC senior engineer Gary Walsh shared a letter from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage outlining the “current status of legislative provisions on this issue”.

It stated that an issue was identified concerning the interaction of Part 18 of the Local Government Act 2001, as amended, and provisions in relation to placenames contained in the Official Languages Acts during the process of finalising new regulations.

“Until new Regulations have been made, there is currently no legal basis for the holding of a plebiscite in relation to the changing of a placename,” the letter from the Department read.

Speaking in the chamber, Mr Walsh said that while that particular stretch of road is known to “everyone” as Main Street, “it’s not Main Street to us officially by the official roads schedule”.

“Plebiscites aren’t necessarily straightforward or cheap to run, it’s the only way we have to change it and unfortunately we can’t even change it at the moment,” he told councillors.

However he said it was a matter that the council could possibly return to once the updates had been made to the regulations, a reply that Cllr Smyth was happy to accept.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme