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£22.99Translink, the Northern Irish public transport provider, has been criticized for its decision to exclude the Irish language on signage at the new £340m Grand Central Station in Belfast. An Dream Dearg, an Irish language group, described the development as a “new multi-million monolingual monolith”. Despite ongoing construction on the site, bus services are set to begin operating on Sunday with the first transport to Dublin scheduled at 05:00 BST. The start date for rail services has yet to be announced but, according to Translink, will be soon.
The absence of Irish language signage has been deemed contrary to the desires of Belfast City Council, as well as the Sinn Féin party representative John O’Dowd, infrastructure minister external. An Dream Dearg has suggested legal action may be taken against the transport company.
Translink has defended its actions by indicating Irish will feature on “multi-lingual welcome signage”. The Ulster Scots Agency and Conradh na Gaeilge were among the groups consulted to address the issue of signage in the new station; however, Translink’s chief executive, Chris Conway, stated there remained no consensus.
Louise Doyle, the station manager, offered assurances that preparations for Sunday’s opening of Grand Central Station were nearing completion. The opening of the hub is likely to be a significant addition to the transport infrastructure of the city and the wider island of Ireland.
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