New number plate recognition planned for Dublin Port freight

Dublin Port will improve cargo flows. Photo: Patrick Bolger/Bloomberg

John Mulligan

A new automatic number plate recognition system will be introduced at Dublin Port within the next two years by the Revenue Commissioners.

The Office of Public Works has just started the process of hiring a consultant to oversee the project for Revenue.

The Revenue Commissioners confirmed that the agency is implementing the system at the port to effectively manage the flow of freight at the hub.

“As part of Revenue’s work in managing the efficient flow of legitimate trade and addressing the risk posed by illegal trade, real-time information regarding all inbound consignments at our ports is communicated with economic operators in order to ensure that at disembarkation from a ferry, the driver of an accompanied freight vehicle is aware of whether they are free to exit the port or are the subject of a customs or other regulatory control,” a spokesperson said.

They added that the planned automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system at Dublin Port is designed to “further enhance” the flow of goods through the port by facilitating a more managed traffic operation.

It will also see new customs route signalling at the point of disembarkation for goods vehicle drivers.

“The Customs ANPR process at Dublin Port will start at the disembarkation point, with cameras capturing the image of the licence plate, and end at the exit points from the port, with a visual message system (VMS) display to the driver,” noted the Revenue spokesperson.

For unaccompanied freight movements, the system will facilitate their flow through the port when they are being collected.

Dublin Port, whose chief executive is Barry O’Connell, saw 36.7 million tonnes of goods flow through the facility last year. That was up 5.2pc on 2021. It included 22.2 million tonnes of imports and 14.5 million tonnes of exports.

The number of ships that arrived at the port in 2022 totalled 7,473, while 89,106 trade vehicles passed through the gateway.

Customs officers continue to make significant seizures of illegal goods at Dublin Port. Earlier this year, eight million cigarettes valued at more than €6.3m were seized. Last year, seizures included millions of euros worth of cigarettes, rolling tobacco, cocaine and beer.

Dublin Port plans to double capacity to handle 77 million tonnes of freight by 2040.