The volume of goods passing through Dublin Port has increased substantially in the first half of the year but the group has warned that a shortage of capacity may hinder future growth. Group chief executive Enda Connellan, who has previously warned that operational capacity would run out by the end of next year, said yesterday the port was turning away business.

"Operational capacity is the single biggest threat facing Irish ports and the economy and as such the urgency for expansion needs to be at the top of the national development agenda," he said.

A total of 14.2 million tonnes of goods passed through the port in the six months to the end of June, up 6.5 per cent on the year-earlier period, Dublin Port Company said at a presentation of its 2005 annual report yesterday. Turnover was €31.8 million, 4.3 per cent ahead of the first-half last year. Unitised trade has grown by on average 10 per cent a year for the past decade and is set to continue as the Republic's economy is forecast to grow by 5 per cent a year in the medium term.

The company is seeking planning permission to expand its 260-hectare site to cover the northeastern perimeter of the docks. Mr Connellan could not say when a decision would be made, but said it would take about two years from the time of permission being granted for any facilities to be fit for purpose.

Dublin Port revealed a profit of €12.5 million in 2005, up from only €2.4 million a year earlier.

The 2004 figure was affected by a series of early retirement payments as the group sought to lower its headcount. Staff numbers halved during 2005, leaving it with 223 workers as of the end of December. Turnover in 2005 was €61.5 million, up 3.8 per cent.

For both last year and the first part of this year, Dublin Port attributed the growth in revenue to an increase in the amount of goods passing through the port - throughput reached a record 26.9 million tonnes in 2005 and is expected to reach 28.5 million tonnes this year.

Mr Connellan said the company had been unable to raise rents since its incorporation in 1997 and that many of the lease terms agreed in the 1960s were still in operation today.

During the past 18 months, the downward trend in ferry passengers continued, hurt by the increasing popularity of low-cost airlines. Numbers fell 5.2 per cent in the first half of this year.

Meanwhile, the cruise sector has been growing - 76 cruise liners have already docked in Dublin Port this year, though the business generates little income for the port.

Dublin Port called for the introduction of the HGV management strategy, an initiative aimed at removing trucks from the city centre, to be delayed because of the damaging impact it could have on the movement of goods.

It spent €14.1 million last year, including constructing a dual carriageway to connect the Port Tunnel with the main cargo terminals.