Irish ports handled 12.7 million tonnes of goods in the first quarter of 2026, according to data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). This was a decrease of two per cent compared to the same period last year. This decrease was largely down to the three per cent drop in goods received in the first few months of the year. 8.7 million tonnes of goods were received across Ireland’s eight largest ports, down three per cent from 8.95 million tonnes last year. Meanwhile, the amount of goods forwarded by Irish ports was marginally up to four million tonnes this year, a six thousand tonne increase on last year. From January to March, 2,499 vessels arrived in Ireland, down from 2,557 last year. Of the eight Irish ports, Dublin Port accounted for 61 per cent of these arrivals, having taken in 1,523 vessels so far this year. “Dublin Port accounted for 1,523 (61 per cent) vessel arrivals in Irish ports and for 6,169,000 (49 per cent) of the total tonnage of goods handled in Q1 2026,” said Damien Lenihan, statistician in the transport division of the CSO. “Great Britain and Northern Ireland accounted for 4,112,000 (32 per cent) of the total tonnage of goods handled in the main ports by region of trade in Q1 2026,” he added.