Failure to expand Dublin Port could cost the economy €24 million annually within the next five years, and up to €40 million annually within a decade, according to an unpublished consultancy study.
The study, by economist Dr Peter Bacon, estimates that the constraints on space could have cost millions in lost return on investment over the past 10 years.
In 2003, limited space in the load-on, load-off (lo-lo) area was costing almost €5 million a year in delays, and was projected to rise to €5.5 million in 2007.
The study was commissioned last year by Dublin Port as part of its plan to reclaim 21 hectares to accommodate terminals for lo-lo and roll on, roll off (ro-ro) freight at the eastern end of the estate.
The application, which would comprise an area representing 7.5 per cent of the total 640-acre port estate, is with the Department of Marine and Dublin City Council. It is opposed by environmental group Dublin Bay Watch.
Dr Bacon notes that repeated failures to provide the port with a decision have "inhibited long-term planning and investment" in its infrastructure, which affects the "engine of the economy". The efficient operation of the port is central to national competitiveness and performance, he says.
Dublin Port currently employs 4,000 people; handles almost 70 per cent of Ireland's containerised freight, and 80 per cent of all ro-ro traffic. Ro-ro traffic has grown by 143 per cent since 1995, compared to a 39 per cent growth in overall weight of freight, and container freight is associated with the new industries driving the economy, the report notes.
Dr Bacon notes a "contradiction" in Dublin City Council, where its development plan commits it to ensuring maximum competitiveness on the Irish Sea central corridor route. However, the council also puts "constraint" on development by circumscribing the northern and eastern edges of the port area with a recreational and open space zoning.
He recommends that this zoning should be removed, and that the Dublin city development plan should support expansion after the port tunnel opens.
Dr Bacon's report examines other options, including diverting trade from Dublin to other ports. None of these options is "costless", he said. Diverting traffic alone would cost €129 million annually in 2003 values, with an additional €15 million as a result of additional emissions of greenhouse gases.
The growth in the cruise business will also be affected by a failure to expand, costing an estimated €14 million annually in lost expenditure by overseas visitors and a lost potential for 240 full-time jobs.The potential costs of not making a definitive decision "greatly outweigh the costs of proceeding with the development proposed," Dr Bacon says.
