The Spire of Dublin will not now be formally unveiled until the middle of June because its lighting system has not achieved the required standards, Dublin City Council conceded yesterday.
Though the 120-metre stainless steel monument is not on any known flight path, the light that will be emitted through more than 11,000 perforations near its tip must meet the Irish Aviation Authority's requirements.
"It must achieve a specific output and it hasn't done that, so we've sent it back to Britain for further testing", the City Architect, Mr Jim Barrett, told The Irish Times. "We were also unhappy with the quality of its output."
The band of light half-way up the spire is also part of its aviation warning system, as is a temporary red light at the top.
The latter will be removed once the lighting system inside the spire reaches the required standards.
The city council is to use the latest hiatus as an opportunity to complete work on the granite paving around the Spire as well as upgrading water services in the area, which are thought will take three months to complete.
