Road signs in Co Kerry are being stolen by "professional" sign takers, who were profiting from people's sentimental attachment to the county, a councillor has claimed.
Any sign with Kerry on it is particularly vulnerable, according to Cllr Michael Healy-Rae. In a recent episode, only the "Welcome to Cork" sign was left on the main tourist route between Kerry and west Cork, he said - all others inside the Kerry border were stolen.
The Independent councillor said professional gangs were "roaming the country" and conducting "an industry" nationwide in road sign removal. "You can't keep a sign with a popular place- name on it." The signs were ending up in bars and homes in New York and the UK and the lucrative trade was costing Kerry taxpayers thousands of euro each year, he added.
Mr Healy-Rae said a stronger adhesive for the poles and a new method of fixing the signs needed to be found. In some cases, "pole and all has been carried".
The matter emerged during a motion by Mr Healy-Rae at an area meeting of Kerry County Council. Mr Healy-Rae said there was "extreme confusion" regarding signposts for graveyards in Glencar, a remote mountain and valley area which stretches from the foothills of Ireland's highest mountains, the MacGillycuddy's Reeks, to Glenbeigh. Different names were being used on the signs than on public death notices.
Near Bonane, on the Kerry-Cork border, all but one of around six signs had been taken recently. Only the "Welcome to Cork" sign on the other side of the tunnel remained, according to Mr Paul Neary, senior engineer for south Kerry council. The local Kerry placenames and the "Welcome to Kerry" signs were gone. It cost between €500 and €2,000 to replace the metal signs on galvanised poles, he added.