ANY further blockage of Dublin Port would jeopardise 220,000 jobs in the manufacturing and services sector, the Irish Exporters' Association warned yesterday. "Companies are already telling us that they can't stand more than a couple of days of disruption", the IEA's chief executive, Mr Colum MacDonnell, said.
Some £40 million worth of exports pass through Dublin Port every day. The food and drink companies are among the biggest exporters and are particularly vulnerable to any disruption of their deliveries.
Most companies will be meeting daily orders, particularly from British supermarkets, and will almost immediately be forced to scale back production if their orders cannot be delivered on time, according to the IEA.
A blockage of Dublin Port would also considerably hamper the businesses of companies dependent on imported raw materials.
Almost half of all Irish jobs are supported by exports, with an estimated 440,000 said to be either directly or indirectly dependent on that sector. This includes virtually all Irish manufacturing jobs, one in seven in services and more than 100,000 in agriculture.