‘Closure of docks will result in loss of 200 jobs’

THE closure of Limerick Docks, which is being considered by the port company, would cost 200 jobs, the chairman of the port users said yesterday.

The Shannon Foynes Port Company has confirmed it is going to the property market in the next few weeks to value the 45-acre area.

If the price is right, they will put it up for sale.

The company needs to raise €100 million for a major upgrade of port facilities on the Shannon Estuary, which it controls.

The company wants to transfer the 600,000-tonnes-a-year business carried out at Limerick Docks to the port of Foynes, which handles 1.6 million tonnes.

Chairman of the port users association Liam Woulfe said the closure of Limerick Docks and sale of the property to developers would cost 200 jobs among port workers and people employed by port users.

His company, Grassland Fertilisers, is responsible for 120,000 tonnes of the 600,000 tonnes shipped through Limerick port every year.

He said: “If we had to bring in our fertilisers through Foynes and bring it by road to our plant in Limerick it would cost €500,000 a year and this would wipe us out. It would cost us around €8m to relocate our plant to Foynes and that is not a viable proposition.”

He said that if the 10 major port users in Limerick were to import through Foynes it would cause traffic havoc on the N69 between Foynes and Limerick.