The Government has confirmed 58,000 new speed limit signs will be in place on Irish roads by early 2005.
The project will cost €10m and see the new signage introduced all across the country in January along with a €1m public awareness campaign as the new signs will be in kilometres per hour.
Current limits will be converted from the current miles per hours (mph) figures and rounded up to the nearest metric equivalent.
For built-up areas the speed limits will be about 50kms, with 80kms the limit on regional and local roads and a maximum of about 120kms per hour on motorways.
However, the new signs cannot be legally erected until the Road Traffic Bill 2004 is written into law.
The Government is hoping to introduce the changes by the end of January.