Major issue with vandalism of electronic road signs in Ennis area

ALMOST a quarter of electronic road signs in the Ennis area have been damaged as a result of theft or vandalism.

The issue was raised at the Ennis Municipal District November meeting on Tuesday by councillor Clare Colleran-Molloy, who brought a motion requesting two variable-message signs (VMS) in Doora village be examined; "as it appears that neither are working".

Responding in the council chamber to Cllr Colleran-Molloy's motion, acting senior executive engineer Patrick Tiernan said that of the 26 VMS boards in the Ennis MD area, ten are damaged.

"The main problem with the damage is vandalisation, there's people stealing the batteries and solar panels off the top, and that is the case with the two in Doora," he explained.

He said that money could be used from funds for "discretionary maintenance" to repair the boards, but estimated repair costs would be between €700 and €1,500.

"It's a considerable amount of money when you add up 10 or 12 of these together," Mr Tiernan said.

When asked by Cllr Colleran-Molloy how many signs had been damaged as a result of vandalism, Mr Tiernan quoted from a report that estimated "50% vandalism, 50% weather".