Dublin City Council is being forced to relocate four kiosks that were originally erected on the Grattan bridge over the Liffey as part of a scheme designed to give a more continental flavour to the city centre.
The kiosks, which were constructed in 2004 as part of a €2 million project aimed at turning the bridge linking Capel Street with Parliament Street into a European-style book market, have been unoccupied for some time.
A spokeswoman for Dublin City Council confirmed that it intends to relocate the kiosks to another part of the city because they "are not viable in their current location".
She said the concept behind the kiosks "had not worked" for a number of reasons, including an insufficient number of pedestrians crossing the bridge and the weather conditions.
While a new location has yet to be identified by the council, she said they were in the process of "looking at various options". There is no timetable as to when the kiosks will be taken off the bridge and re-erected.
"We won't know when they are coming off the bridge until we can figure out a suitable place to put them," the council spokeswoman said.
Up until recently one of the four kiosks was used to sell sweets and newspapers but it has now closed. Earlier this year another was used on a temporary basis to sell tickets for a theatre festival.
The kiosks formed part of a €2 million project that included the reconstruction of the bridge deck, new granite paving and a set of benches with wooden seats and toughened glass backs.
The spokeswoman added that while the kiosks had not been a success the council was satisfied the overall works to the bridge had enhanced the view of the Liffey.