An Taisce has warned that Dublin City Council's failure to conserve antique pavements and carry out other public works in the city centre to a high standard could adversely affect the tourist trade in the capital.

The national trust has complained that the council has removed a significant amount of native granite kerbstone paving that has historically been used in several key city- centre locations such as Temple Bar, O'Connell Street and St Stephens Green.

The conservation body says that in many instances the council has made "no effort" to reinstate the yellow granite, native to counties Dublin and Wicklow, and has instead replaced the kerbstones of these pavements with inferior Chinese white granite.

In a recent letter to Dublin City Council, Kevin Duff of An Taisce said: "Works affecting irreplaceable listed granite pavements frequently exhibit a shockingly poor standard of workmanship, even though Dublin City Council is legally required to ensure their preservation."

He also said the local auth­ority had failed to properly maintain what he described as elements of the "public realm" in the city centre.

"We are noticing a serious deterioration in standards of city-centre public realm works recently. Numerous mounted signs located on the approaches to College Green for the bus gate do not properly fit the mounts, with poles sloppily projecting above and below the signs. They are unfit for the prominent city- centre location, and are adding to clutter and a poorly presented public realm."

Duff warned that the council's failure to carry out these works to a high standard could result in a loss of reputation for the city as a holiday destination and could result in fewer tourists returning to visit the capital.

In response, a spokesman for Dublin City Council said: "Our practice is that as far as possible antique granite is not interchanged between different locations. In all cases, the overriding consideration is the safety and convenience of the public within the limited budget available."