A SOUTH Belfast councillor has spoken out after two more Irish language street signs were vandalised in the south of the city.
The sign for Haypark Avenue and St Jude's Square – both located off the Ormeau Road – were defaced. The Haypark Avenue sign has suffered numerous attacks in both January and February of this year.
South Belfast SDLP councillor Gary McKeown says proactive steps need to be taken to tackle the spate of attacks on bilingual streets signs in the city.
Councillor McKeown said: "We seem to have entered a cycle of vandalism and replacement of bilingual signs in particular locations. While it's really important that these signs are reinstalled when they are destroyed, proactive steps now need to be taken to try to prevent these hate crimes from happening again and to identify those responsible.
A power tool - To destroy a dual-language sign - Agreed to by 100% of those who answered the Council's survey. Not a single resident opposed the signage. @belfastcc can you confirm what action you can take around these sectarian hate crimes? @CAJNi https://t.co/LELekFOtXe
— An Dream Dearg 🅾️🦸🏽♀️🦸🏻♂️ (@dreamdearg) March 19, 2024
"The further destruction of bilingual signs just off the Ormeau Road is completely unacceptable. These are something which the community wants and which reflect the diversity of this area, so those responsible are just demonstrating their own intolerance.
"Once the criteria for approving bilingual street signs have been met, they should be installed and left alone. As it happens, in the case of these particular signs, there was actually an exceptionally high level of community support for their installation. "
VANDALISM: Cllr Gary McKeown at the Haypark Avenue sign when it was damaged in February
Councillor McKeown continued, stating the Haypark Avenue sign was overwhelmingly voted for by those in the local community.
"The Haypark Avenue sign which has been attacked repeatedly was supported by over 88 per cent of residents who responded to the council's community survey on the matter, and for the sign at St Jude's Square, which has been destroyed for the first time, the figure was 100 per cent.
"I will be calling for a meeting with the police and council officers to find out what can be done to deter those responsible from doing it again. Aside from the fact that these acts of vandalism are wrong and against the law, it is also costing the ratepayer additional money every time they have to be replaced. We will always make sure that they are replaced, but I would prefer that they weren't attacked in the first place."
