Two adjoining listed buildings in Dublin, part of which had collapsed, were now extremely dangerous and posed a danger to workers, Dublin Corporation said yesterday.
The buildings are 78 and 79 North King Street, Smithfield, next door to the Cobblestones public house.
Mr John Martin, deputy planning officer of Dublin Corporation, told The Irish Times a structural engineer believed the interiors of the buildings were so dangerous they would have to be taken down.
"Our primary concern now is the safety of the workers as it is now extremely dangerous. We have asked the structural engineers if it is at all possible to retain the facades at 78 and 79, but that is not guaranteed as there is extreme risk to demolition workers. We will do everything we can to preserve the facades," Mr Martin said.
Members of the public were not in danger as the whole area had been cordoned off, he said.
The rear of 79 had collapsed completely and the party wall between the buildings had partially collapsed endangering the rest of the structure. They were also trying to protect No 77, which was the Cobblestones public house and also No 80, which was a listed building.
"There is a concern for the pub as it is part of a terraced structure and the other buildings have to be taken down extremely carefully," Mr Martin said.
Work has stopped on the buildings for the weekend and will resume on Monday.
The two buildings, parts of which probably date from the early 18th century were listed for protection under the 1999 Dublin City Development Plan and had been tax-designated for refurbishment as part of the HARP Integrated Area Plan.
Both buildings have been unoccupied for some years. North King Street will remain closed to traffic between Church Street and Smithfield until works there have been completed.
Yesterday a Labour Senator, Mr Joe Costello, said that in the space of a couple of weeks the dangerous buildings section of Dublin Corporation had been called out twice to demolish buildings of great antiquity in the Smithfield area. These buildings had become a danger to the public due to neglect and the corporation was left with no option but to pull them down.
As chairman of the statutory monitoring committee for the rejuvenation of Smithfield, he said, he was determined to ensure that a complete register of buildings at risk was compiled and property-owners were required to take all necessary measures to ensure that historic properties were protected.