A Government policy paper on the future of State ports has been sharply criticised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), which says the proposed policy would inevitably lead to privatisation.

ICTU's economic adviser, Mr Paul Sweeney, said the Ports Policy Statement, published earlier this month, suggested that the lessons of the "Eircom debacle" had still not been learnt.

The document, published by the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, says the State ports need hundreds of millions of euro in investment to overcome a potential huge shortfall in capacity.

While it says the Department is keeping an "open mind" on privatisation of the ports, it warns that the Exchequer will be a funder of last resort only. Instead, it wants the ports to engage more with the private sector to explore the provision of the necessary investment.

Mr Sweeney said the document amounted to a policy of privatisation.

"If private sector funding is maximised, if there are large capacity constraints which require investment, and if the State will not invest in the ports, then the only conclusion is the privatisation of the ports."

Mr Sweeney said the ports were part of the State's critical infrastructure and should not be privatised.

"They are major economic gateways and they are monopolies in their own areas."

Privatisation would mean that these "crucial gateways" would fall into the hands of "speculators with little interest in their strategic development as key infrastructural assets".

Even the employers' body, IBEC, had concluded that the ports should remain in State ownership, in a report published last year, he said.

"The Government is pursuing an ideological agenda that will prevent the ports from accessing new capital.

"Privatisation would be a major step backwards for this island economy."