The first steps have been taken towards serving a fire safety notice on Riverwalk Court in Co. Meath.

The County Council has told residents of the Ratoath estate that it intends to carry out a statutory inspection of the development's 26 units.

If the inspection finds the property - or individual units within it - are potentially dangerous, a fire safety notice will follow.

That is the first step towards having the development evacuated, if remedial work is not undertaken.

Irish Examiner journalist Michael Clifford broke the story. He has been speaking to Newstalk.com's Pat Kenny show: