Dublin Port’s chief executive Eamonn O’Reilly is moving on after 12 years at the helm.
He does so at a time when the port reports a return to almost pre-pandemic and pre-Brexit trading levels, with overall volumes growing by 10.1 per cent to 18.6 million gross tonnes and an increase in ship arrivals in the first half of this year.
O’Reilly spoke to Afloat's Wavelengths about the port’s performance and its strategic infrastructure projects – including the Poolbeg peninsula plan, which is at pre-planning stage with An Bord Pleanála.
This will include moving the container terminal eastwards, converting the existing container terminal into a roll-on/roll-off terminal, and a new bridge, taking heavy traffic off the Tom Clarke bridge and linking directly into the port tunnel. This will help the port reaches the targets in its master plan, he says.
It will include “softening” the boundary between the port and the city, he says, with East Wall Road – which he has described as one of the most hostile roads in the country - transforming into a “boulevard” as it loses all those heavy goods vehicles.
The port is currently working with Grafton Architects on the Liffey/Tolka project, and he says it is going to transform the eastern edge of the city.
He also spoke about Ireland’s population increase, why it makes no sense to move the port – but we should be making plans for an additional east coast port, as Dublin Port is due to reach capacity by 2040.
And he spoke about his own future plans as an electrical engineer. He expressed frustration at the amount of time it is taking Ireland to develop the infrastructure we need to decarbonise.
“Worldwide, we’ve known for 30 years what is coming,” he says.
Listen to Eamonn O’Reilly below.
