Extracts fromn a Reuters report, 14 September 2004 (Pint of Murphy's, please):

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Ireland drives towards metric conformity
Tue September 14, 2004 11:14 AM ET

DUBLIN (Reuters) - A driver is travelling from Dublin to Limerick at 60 miles per hour. Limerick is 198 kilometres from Dublin. How long will it take to get there?

From January 20 next year, drivers in Ireland will no longer have to watch the road and perform these sums as they go because all speed limit signs will finally go metric - matching distance signs, which it started to convert in the 1990s.

Ireland and the United Kingdom are among the last bastions of Imperial measurements like miles, feet and inches although countries like the United States also still like to do their baking in pounds and ounces.

A special board will oversee the change and is planning a media campaign to help people make the mental switch between miles and kilometres, but the country's transport minister is hopeful things will go without too many hitches.

"I am confident that we can make the changeover from miles to kilometres safely and smoothly," Seamus Brennan said in a statement announcing the date.

Other countries have certainly faced tougher road-related challenges. Sweden switched sides of the road altogether in 1967 to drive the same way as neighbours Norway, Finland and Denmark.

Ireland is unlikely to go that far any time soon but its January changeover will leave the UK as the last country in the European Union with non-metric road signs, which could prove tricky around the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

______

ENDS

Can you imagine all those confused Irish folks at the border?

Those in the south instantly recognising the signs used in the North and being comfortable with them and those in the North looking blankly at the signs in the south and thinking 'what on earth did you do that for'?

LOL!

ROFL!

That's a hell of a statement!

I imagine Her Majesty's subjects in Ulster aren't too impressed at your description of them as Irish and not Northern Irish!

A bit like calling a Canadian 'American' and making the same point about crossing from Metric Canada into Imperial USA.

By the way, do you not like the Irish?;-)

Sorry to be annoying, but technically Canadians **are** american (they inhabit a part of the American continent)... Sorry :D

I guess Mexican's must then be American too? and people from the Irish Republic are British;-) I don't think so...

I think you're confusing geographical descriptions with nationalities.

Yes, I was being pedantic. America is the name of the continent. And I would contest the Irish are British, but that is a whole different barrel of fish :D

On what basis would you consider folk from the ROI British?

re (James B): [re: Canadians and Mexicans being Americans]: "I think you're confusing geographical descriptions with nationalities"

REPLY: James, could you please do us all (yes, including the French and Germans) a great big favour.

Please send the above information to:

Mr Romano Prodi, current President or
Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, incoming President
European Commission,
Brussels [part of the year]
Strasbourg [part of the year]
Luxembourg [part of the year].

Don't worry, your communication will eventually reach them at any of the above addresses.

It just *may* be that they haven't yet cottoned on to the point you've made

Don't they hold an Italian and Portuguese passport respectively?

I'm not aware of any dictate on the 25 EU states relinquishing their individual state passports nor do I ever believe this would be acceptable for British, French or Greek citizens.

At least we can agree on the golf though ..... the European team is ahead of the USA so far!;-)

And none of our friends from Europe are scratching their heads about all those "yards"!

James, you are showing an appalling lack of knowledge up there.

1)"I imagine Her Majesty's subjects in Ulster aren't too impressed at your description of them as Irish and not Northern Irish!"

The people in the north *ARE* Irish (AND Narn Irish). They are Irish people from part of the United Kingdom (but not part of GB). Do you know anyone from the North? (or the south to that matter)! Irish was partitioned into Narn Ireland and Eire. It's still Ireland though.


2) "I guess Mexican's must then be American too? and people from the Irish Republic are British;-) I don't think so..."

Erm - last time I checked Mexico was in a place called "Central America" - so yes, America, Were you away that the USA (ie below Canada but above Central America) is called "North America"?

And people from Eire reside in the British Isles, but not GB or UK.


I think you might be getting all this confused with the "EU is a country" rubbish.

I can't see any other logical explanation.

Let's clarify the argument which seems to have been mis-interpreted, i.e. let's move out of Spagetti and back to Ravioli;-)

The discussion concerns nationality versus geographical location (read back through the correspondence)

Therefore, someone from Canada cannot be said to be having American nationality (i.e. holding a US passport)

Same thing goes for Mexico, which IS located on the North American continent (take some time and look it up!). Excerpt: World Atlas.com: --"North America, the 3rd largest continent, includes Canada, Greenland, Mexico, the United States, all the countries of Central America and the island countries and dependencies of the Caribbean"--


Same goes for Romani Prodi or Silvio Berlosconi for example, who, while living on the European continent do NOT hold a singularly European nationality i.e. their passports are issued by their respective states and NOT Brussels.

Sames goes for someone from the ROI, who while living in the British Isles does NOT have a right to British nationality (passport). Folk from N. Ireland are indeed represented on the UK passport, i.e. United Kingdon of Gt. Britain and Northern Ireland.

Kinda simple when you lose the emotion and focus on facts;-)

P.s. Was impressive to see the Ryder Cup team waving about their respective flags (e.g. Monty waving the scottish flag after his win), yet still playing with a EU flag on his shirt.

Yeah, it gives us all hope- one day I hope to be like good old monty.

<<
I'm not aware of any dictate on the 25 EU states relinquishing their individual state passports nor do I ever believe this would be acceptable for British, French or Greek citizens.
>>

Right now, the EU is slowly building up its powers, so it must take into account what would be acceptable to people of the various member states. But after it has firmly established itself as a strong entity, above the individual members, what would keep it from doing things that the citizens or national governments find unacceptable?
This is exactly what happened in the US.

James,

Does someone from the south of Ireland (Eire) have automatic right to vote in the UK General Election?

May answer on behalf of James - the answer is "Yes" - and UK citizens are allowed to vote in Eire. This applies to all elections.

Furthermore, if you are an EU national you may vote in any election in any EU state where you are a registered resident except for national elections in states of which you are not a citizen. (ie, UK national who is a registered resident in Germany can vote in German local election).

Unless laws were changed recently, someone from Eire could vote in the UK but someone from the UK could not vote in Eire.

I've posted some quotes from various govt and local govt websites:

"Citizens of the European Union have the right to vote at European and Local Elections in the country of their residence. However, European Union citizens may not participate in UK Parliamentary Elections."

"** Citizens of Cyprus and Malta, as Commonwealth citizens, and citizens of the Irish Republic may vote at all elections in the UK. "

"To vote in any election you must be a British Citizen or a citizen of the Irish Republic. You can also vote if you are a Commonwealth Citizen (born in any of the countries listed below of which the queen is Head of State)."

[big list snipped]

Another bit from a political party site:

HOW TO VOTE

Make sure you can

To vote you must be at least 18 and a British citizen, a British Commonwealth citizen, a citizen of a British Dependent Territory, an Irish citizen or a citizen of one of the other member states of the European Union.



You must also be on the Electoral Register. This is updated every year using details from the registration form you receive each Autumn from your local council. If you are not registered to vote, you can register now (see below).



Recently Rolling Registration has been introduced. This means that the Register is now updated each month to take account of house moves, deaths and other amendments. Click here to read a .pdf leaflet on Rolling Registration (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader). . If you would like further details on rolling registration please visit www.rollingregistration.co.uk .



The introduction of a new rolling register enables people to register to vote at any time of the year and makes postal votes on demand available for the first time. Rolling registration and postal votes on demand are provisions of the Representation of the People Act 2000 which modernises voting and registration procedures. You can get more details at the: HMSO website.



If you need help in deciding how to register, or to vote by post or proxy, please contact us on 01296 714 240.



Voting by post

People no longer need to give a reason for requiring a postal vote. . You can ask for an automatic postal vote for a set period. Alternatively, you can ask for a one-off postal vote in advance of any election. Click here to read a leaflet on Postal Voting.



If you would like further details on postal voting, please visit www.postalvotes.co.uk



Voting by proxy

You can still vote even if you are unable to go to your polling station on election day and do not want to use a postal vote. Providing there is a good reason, you can apply to vote by proxy. (A proxy is someone who votes on your behalf). For example:

You will be away on holiday (in the UK or abroad)

Your work takes you away from home

You are ill or in hospital

Some people qualify to vote by post or proxy for a longer period of time, not just at one particular election.



How to get a Postal/Proxy voting form

You can ask the electoral registration officer for an application form (RPF 9A) as soon as an election has been announced, if you know that you will not be able to vote in person. Alternatively, ring us on 01296 714 240 and we will send you the form.



The electoral registration officer must receive your completed application form by 5pm, eleven working days before election day. (Working days exclude weekends, bank holidays, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day). This leaves very little time after an election is announced, so you must complete and return your form as quickly as possible.



If you unexpectedly become ill after the eleventh working day before election day, you might still be able to apply to vote by post or proxy. Ask the registration officer for a late application form (RPF 9B). In this case, he or she must receive your completed application form by 5pm, six working days before election day.



Filling in the Postal/Proxy voting form

When you complete either form RPF 9A or RPF 9B you will need to give the following information:

You full name and address, and the address where you are registered as an elector (if this is different)

The election at which you want to vote by post or proxy, and the date it takes place

The reason why you will be unable to vote in person eg

I shall be on holiday in (place) on polling day

or

I am recovering from a serious accident/illness and find it difficult to get about



If you are completing a late application form because of illness (RPF 9B) you will also need to get your application form signed by a doctor, a suitably qualified registered nurse or a Christian Science practitioner.


You will need to say on the application form whether you want to vote by post or by proxy. If you want to vote by post you must give the full address to which your ballot paper should be sent. It must be in the United Kingdom. Postal ballot papers are normally sent out about a week before polling day, so if you will not be at home around that time you should consider choosing a proxy instead.

If you want to appoint a proxy to vote for you, he or she must be:

Willing to vote on your behalf

A British citizen or citizen of the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland; or for local government and European Parliamentary elections, a citizen of the European Union;

Old enough to vote and legally allowed to vote

A proxy may not vote at the same election for more than two people unless they are a close relative (husband, wife, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, or grandchild) of the people they are voting for. Your proxy does not necessarily have to sign the form. As long as you have consulted them and they have confirmed that they can and will be your proxy, only you need sign the form. Otherwise the proxy will need to sign as well.



What to do next

Make sure you have signed and dated the form and then post it (or take it by hand) to your electoral registration officer without delay. He or she will normally write to tell you whether your application has been accepted.

(You can also ring us on 01296 714 240 and we will handle it for you).



If you have applied to vote by post, and your application is accepted, you will receive a postal ballot paper about a week before election day. You must post (or take) this back to the returning officer so that it reaches him or her before 9.OOpm on election day for local government elections, or 1O.OOpm for parliamentary and European Parliamentary elections.

(You can also ring us on 01296 714 240 and we will handle it for you).



If you have applied to vote by proxy and your application is accepted, your proxy will receive a "proxy paper" which allows him or her to vote on your behalf on election day.



Voting by post or proxy for a longer period

You might qualify to vote by post or proxy at elections for a longer or indefinite period if:

you are blind or physically disabled (application form RPF 7B);

your work regularly takes you away from home (application form RPF 7);

you have moved house and you are not yet registered as an elector for your new address (check with the electoral registration officer whether this applies to you. If it does, ask for application form RPF 8. The form must be returned to the registration officer for the area which covers your old address).

These special arrangements mean that people who qualify do not have to make a separate application to vote by post or proxy each time an election is held.



(Ring us on 01296 714 240 if you need any further help or advice).


From reg of electors:


Registering to vote
You can only vote in elections if your name is on the Register of Electors. We update the register in October each year using the details from the registration forms delivered to every household. But, after a recent change in the law, from 16 February 2001 we will also be able to amend entries throughout the year.

Moved home? Coming up to 18? Just not on the register?

If you’ve moved since October or have been missed off the register, you can get your details amended much quicker. All you have to do is to fill in a voter registration form. You have to sign your own form, someone else cannot do it for you.

Registration forms are available from the Council’s main reception points at the Municipal Offices, Grimsby; Civic Offices, Cleethorpes; and Kennedy Way, Immingham. Alternatively, print off the registration form below:-

Voter Registration Form

Postal Vote Form

The completed form should be returned to the Electoral Registration Office, North East Lincolnshire Council, Municipal Offices, Town Hall Square, Grimsby, DN31 1HU.

Who can register?

You must be:

over 16 (you cannot vote until your 18th birthday);
a British or Commonwealth citizen; or
a citizen of the Irish Republic or of another EU member state.
Citizens of EU member states other than the UK or the Irish Republic are only eligible to vote in local government elections. If you are not a British or Irish Republic citizen, you must fill in a separate form to vote in European Parliamentary elections.






I'll stop now so I don't get accused of being a 'Carly'

In contrast, when I was working in Germany, I had to register at the "Town Hall". (Everybody in Germnay has to do so, there are three sets of rules - one for German nationals, one for EU nationals and one for "others"). This registration made me "known" to the Government and I was given a residence permit.

When the local elections came around I was sent a voting form without having to register anywhere else.

Did "zey ask vor yor peppers" ?

Yes and it tasted lovely - wheeze cough cough!