Opening new shipping routes between regional ports and key European markets could cut down on congestion in Dublin and reduce freight traffic on roads, according to the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO), which is to conduct a survey of potential transport corridors in the seas around Ireland.

The study will explore possible future short sea shipping trade and access routes, particularly to emerging trade partners in the Baltics and eastern Europe.

The importance of sea trade to the economy is underlined by recent figures showing only 1 per cent of total volume of freight entering the Republic arrived by air.

The analysis will be conducted by Mr John Mangan, director of research at the Irish Management Institute.

Developing regional ports could deliver a huge boost to quality of life, said Ms Bridget Moncrieff, industry liaison officer at the IMDO.

"If we can cut down on the congestion at Dublin port then the volume of traffic to Dublin would also fall considerably.

"This would result in the amount of freight being transported on our roads being significantly reduced."

However, it was too early to quantify the benefits of opening new sea routes, she said.