The latest delay in changing the country's speed signs from miles to kilometres has been attributed to the need to educate motorists about the new signs - and the new limits.
The Department of Transport has confirmed that the changeover will now be on January 20th, 2005, more than three months later than the date recommended by the working group on the review of speed limits.
There is confusion about the new delay among the three companies involved in producing the 59,000 new signs. Frank Murphy from Rennicks, which was awarded the tender to produce over half of the new signs, said he had found it difficult to tie the Department down to an absolute deadline. "I had great difficulties in finding out dates," he said.
Despite this, Murphy confirmed that its 29,000 signs have been delivered to county councils and are awaiting erection.
The Metric Changeover Board, which includes members of the Metrication Implementation Group, has now been established to oversee the changeover, which includes erecting and unveiling the signs, and also to structure "a vigorous multimedia campaign" which will begin immediately after Christmas.
A Department official said that running such an important information campaign in the run-up to, or during, Christmas would not reach all motorists. Therefore the decision was taken to delay the entire project.
Any further delay in the roll- out will have major implications at a time when new-car sales peak. Car importers were until recently working towards a January 1st deadline. Many new cars already have km/h-only speedometers. By January 1st, all new cars will have these.
Speaking last week at the launch of the new Ford Focus, Ford Ireland chairman and managing director Eddie Murphy said: "Nobody's going to quibble with the introduction of metric limits. It's long overdue and part of the European ideal. But I'm sure I speak for most people when I say the transition frightens me.
"We were set a deadline by the Department. We acted on it. The result is that our cars will be available in metric versions only in 2005. Now the Government needs to stick to its deadline. It has been naïve in its dealings to date, betraying a lack of comprehension of lead-times, production complexities and so on.
"There is an unspoken concern that a delayed transition would hamper early-2005 sales, which are essential to our profitability."
The Department is adamant there will be no further delays.