Strong year at Dublin Port

Dublin Port has had a strong year to date, with imports and exports rising by over 7% and ferry passengers up by 5.5% in the first nine months.

Latest figures, published yesterday from the Dublin Port Company, showed total throughput (comprising both the import and export of goods) was up by 5.7%, to 7.8m tonnes, in the third quarter of the year and rose by 23.1m tonnes (up 7.3%) in the first nine months of the year.

That represents pre-recession levels of trade activity.

Import levels for the third quarter, alone, reached over 4.6m tonnes, while exports amounted to 3.1m tonnes, representing an increase of 5.5% and 6.1% respectively on the same period last year.

Dublin Port Company chief executive Eamonn O’Reilly said that the port is now on course to exceed the record trading figures it achieved in 2007.

“The sustained increases in trade at Dublin Port in the third quarter demonstrate our appeal as the port of choice forimporters and exporters, who benefit from direct and efficient access to Dublin and surrounding markets.

“We are committed to investing in facilities and seeking operational efficiencies so that Dublin Port can continue to facilitate Ireland’s trading needs effectively and sustainably, now and in the future,” he said.

Earlier this year, the Dublin Port Company — which paid the State a dividend of €8m based on a strong 2013 financial performance — said it is hopeful of completing the first major phase of its ambitious 30-year €600m development plan within the next five years.

The port has paid the State, its chief shareholder, €70m through dividends in the last eight years.

The first phase of the plan will see its Alexandra Basin site redeveloped to the cost of €200m.

The latest operational figures also show that more than 635,000 ferry passengers passed through the port between July and September.

This brings to almost 1.37m the number of passengers using Dublin Port this year, up by 5.5% on the same period last year.