Episode 52 That Great Business Show - Eamonn O'Reilly, CEO, Dublin Port Company

That Great Business Show

Episode 52 That Great Business Show - Eamonn O'Reilly, CEO, Dublin Port Company

Eamonn discusses every aspect of Dublin Port, handling 84% of the country's container and trailer traffic.

Dublin Port (DP) has 4,000 people working within its walls, but not working directly for DP (165 people are directly employed).

The majority of workers work for companies like Stena, P&O, ICG etc.

DP had turnover of €89m last year and he explains how DP makes its money.

He explains why ships lie offshore DP for various reasons, over weekends.

Eamonn tells us the history of hobblers and how that has changed with regular slots for ships.

Ferries have fixed slots, based on best times for them commercially.

DP is beginning to reach constraints capacity, and rail won't play a major role.

They're going to try to squeeze more activity within the port, particularly cut down the dwell time of goods within the port.

You can stack containers up to about six to be efficient.

He cites Valparaiso in Chile, which is the most efficient port in the world, which passes about three times more goods through than DP.

Biggest containers into DP can carry 1,200 containers but ships can carry up to 22,000.

Brexit has changed the profile of the business at DP, as trade flows, like water, follows the line of least resistance.

They've seen an enormous growth of goods coming directly from continental Europe.

He says that trying to build houses on the DP land is an appalling idea and he explains the history of Bremore Harbour.

One metre of quay wall can cost €100,000 and a quay might run 300 metres.

To build Bremore he reckons might cost €4 billion plus and doubles when lands have to be remediated. The quickest all of this could be built would be 20 years.

DP is the 'single most important transport infrastructure in the country'.

3D printing will replace some traditional manufacturing which will have an effect on trade and therefore port volume.

There will be a decoupling between port volumes and GDP growth.

Cruise ship bookings are allocated two years ahead.

He discusses road access to the port and the need to introduce road pricing, to help manage the capacity of our roads infrastructure.

DP plans will mean a new private bridge next to the East Link or Tom Clarke Bridge. Pre-application discussions have already started with an Bord Pleanála.

They're working on a 4km greenway from East Point business park, down the Tolka estuary, to the most eastern extreme point of DP, where the boats enter the port.

And Eamonn's 'hire in a heartbeat' is Peter Rice, a structural engineer, who made possible the Sydney Opera Centre, the Lloyds building in London and others.

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