It’s the (art)piece process: Dublin city council is planning to decommission public artworks for the first time. A mosaic sculpture in Kilmainham described as an “eyesore” is the first to be put beyond view, but artists and officials have given a mixed reaction to the plan.

The sea-themed sculpture in question was created by artist Kieran McNulty and local children over a 12-month period. It was placed on a green space at the end of Myra Close, a cul de sac in Kilmainham, in 1999. The work has since been badly vandalised and Clare Byrne, a local councillor, said some residents wanted it removed.

“They were saying it had become a bit of an eyesore,” she said. “I think they would prefer if it were replaced with something more suitable for children, something that they could interact with more; maybe just a green space for them to play on.”

McNulty, who did not return calls this weekend, was told of the decommissioning at the end of January and the Public Art Advisory Group unanimously approved the decision. As the materials used have no value, and the artist doesn’t want them, the piece is likely to be thrown out.

The council said that, before the decommissioning policy, there were no formal procedures for the removal of works in Dublin. Ruairí Ó Cuív, the council’s public-art manager, said he had proposed the policy last year to stop the “willy-nilly” removal of art.

Eamonn O’Doherty, the sculptor of the Anna Livia fountain (the “Floozie in the Jacuzzi”), which was on O’Connell Street from 1988 to 2000 and is arguably the most famous public artwork to be removed from the streets of Dublin, questioned why there was a need to remove public artworks when the city had so few.

“I was unable to get a definitive answer as to who made the decision to remove the Anna Livia. Whenever I brought the question up with officials, they said they supposed it was the city manager, which was just an excuse,” said O’Doherty, who also designed the Galway Hookers in Eyre Square and the famine memorial in New York.

O’Doherty, who received IR£9,000 (€11,430) for the Anna Livia piece, said another reason he was given for the fountain not being reinstated was the need to accommodate the crane used to put up the Spire monument.

“The idea of decommissioning artwork seems odd to me,” he said. “There’s so little art in the city centre compared to other cities. Others have lots of fountains but Dublin couldn’t even maintain one little one. I have 40 large sculptures across Ireland, England, Europe and America and this is the only one that has ever been removed.”

Mannix Flynn, a Dublin city councillor and member of Aosdana, said he regarded the policy as “balanced and healthy”. He said replacement pieces should be considered when sculptures are removed.

Robert Ballagh, the Dublin-based artist, said he didn’t find the idea of decommissioning public art attractive. “The most famous piece of ‘decommissioning’ was the blowing up of Nelson’s Pillar,” he said. “I wouldn’t have shed any tears for Nelson himself, but I think Dublin lost an important piece of architecture when the column came down.

“I’d be disinclined to decommission pieces and if it is to take place then the public needs to be involved. They have to live with these pieces of public art.”

Public art they could do without

David Norris, senator and Joycean scholar: I would decommission the allegedly architectural, award-winning Telephone House on Marlborough Street, which replaced a perfectly good group of 18th-century townhouses.

The other one I can’t bear is the vulgarly diddied Molly Malone and her cart. It certainly doesn’t look as if she was dying of a fever; she looks as if she is more likely to die of a heart attack from being overweight.

Rory Breslin, Irish sculptor: The obvious one is The Spire on O’Connell Street. It’s sort of like the Celtic tiger’s tail: expensive to build and expensive to clean. It has no personality and it’s not unique. There’s plenty of them all over, all made by the same people. Also the James Joyce statue on Talbot Street could be changed for something more salubrious. The modelling isn’t great. He was a very dapper man and it is a bit lumpy.

Mannix Flynn, Dublin city councillor and artist: There’s a number of pieces scattered throughout the landscape of the county to be replaced. All you have to do is head into Kerry and you see them on the motorway areas and you often think: “My God, who thought that up?”

There’s a need for good, temporary art works. The Julian Opie Walking and Barry Flanagan’s Hares that were on O’Connell Street were done the wrong way. They were more to do with the Hugh Lane gallery than Dublin city.