News that only half of the Ballymun flats contain asbestos-contaminated material has paved the way for demolition work to start in a few weeks.
Last month the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) ruled that the demolition of the flats complex in north Dublin could not go ahead because the method of removal proposed by Ballymun Regeneration Ltd (BRL) could expose workers and the 20,000 people living locally to lethal asbestos particles.
The demolition of three of the towers was due to begin this spring, but the discovery of asbestos in decorative wall and ceiling coverings delayed work.
However, the Minister of State for housing and urban renewal, Mr Noel Ahern, said yesterday that only half the flats are now believed to contain asbestos-contaminated material.
Speaking at a community celebration in Ballymun to mark the completion of new homes for 600 families, he said two of Ballymun's seven 15-storey blocks, Pearse and MacDonagh Towers, and two four-storey blocks in the neighbourhood area of Sillogue, could be demolished as early as mid-July.
Mr Ciarán Murray, managing director of BRL, said: "Tests carried out in recent weeks suggest that asbestos may not have been used in the flat blocks built between 1965 and 1967, which includes half the flats in Ballymun."
A process for testing and demolition has been agreed with the HSA and demolition is expected to start "in a few weeks", he added.
Following recommendations from the HSA, specialist contractors will remove the asbestos coatings from the walls before demolition. The programme is expected to take at least six years.
This is good news for the €2.5 billion regeneration project, as it was feared the costly removal of asbestos-contaminated plaster and tile adhesive would add an extra four years and €120 million to the project.
Mr Ahern noted that the removal of the material will be "very costly" and " time consuming". Given that only half the flats are affected, however, the cost would probably be half of that originally estimated.
"It will cause a delay on some sites and some people who might have been promised to move into homes next year will be put back", Mr Ahern said.