More than 10 Internet domain names connected with the Spire have been registered by a company and an individual, much to the chagrin of Dublin City Council which has spent €4.6 million on the monument.
The city council is now trying to gain control over the site names, which contain variations on the words spire, Dublin and monument of light. Some names were registered last October while others were registered earlier last year.
Dublin City Council said it could not say who had registered the domain names, but both the company and the individual were Irish. One site is already up and running and appears to be aimed at tourists. It promises sections on staying in Dublin and eating out.
The city council is hopeful the people who registered the names will give them to the council, said Ms Ann Graham, project manager for the O'Connell Street integrated plan. She did not know if the people involved would be seeking money in exchange for the site names.
Council officials first heard the site names had been registered six weeks ago. Ms Graham said the council had since made telephone contact with the people involved to see what their intentions were. It was surprising that the names had been registered so long ago, she said.
While the monument has been discussed since 1999, it was only completed last month. Part of it is still swathed in plastic as the official unveiling still has not taken place. Dublin city councillors are expected to discuss a date for the inauguration and to look at possible names at their March council meeting.
