The redevelopment of Dublin's docklands appears to have awakened other port authorities to the potential benefits of regeneration.

Nevertheless many of the plans designed to take advantage of people's desire to live near towns or city centres are still in their embryonic stages. Therefore, traditional companies such as industrial, warehousing, and food import companies continue to be the dominant users of docklands.

"There's not a lot of new land coming up for sale," said Brian Edwards of DTZ Sherry FitzGerald in Cork. "There's not really much movement there. In the Marina Commercial Park, rents of £5.50 to £6 are typical for warehouse space so it's not that different from the rest of the city. In Little Island, for example, you would pay the same rates."

"With containerisation, the demand for space would be much less. Goods aren't really held around ports anymore. It's really only feed and grain that would be kept there. Most of the goods landed are moved on within minutes," said Aidan Boland of Lisney. Office space in the area lets for between £12 and £14 per square foot, said Boland.

Edwards suggested that Cork Corporation and the Port of Cork would like to move a lot of the harbour facilities to Ringaskiddy and open the harbour for development. "Land value is constantly increasing in the area and at the moment it's about £250,000 per acre. The IDA owns around 100 acres, much of which still has to be developed," he said.

The docklands in Cork are set for a major redevelopment, however. A 10-year project will probably be announced by the end of the year, setting out a plan for redevelopment both north and south of the present quays and along Centre Park Road.

"I think the lack of a coordinated plan has been one of the main reasons for the lack of development. The fragmented ownership hasn't helped but hopefully the new plan will sort that out. Some landowners now appear to be getting organised for comprehensive schemes," Boland said.

In Sligo, locals believe the docklands are bound to be redeveloped to some extent in the near future.

"There's rumours that it will be. Most of it is owned by the harbour and some of it has been leased out. There's some property in private ownership, however," said Peter Bennett of Peter Bennett Auctioneers. Bennett recently leased one unit on the quays at £6 per square foot and said that to buy property there would cost over £100 per square foot.

"I have clients looking for space but there's not much coming onto the market. I sincerely hope the redevelopment will come in the not too distant future," he said. "There's a sizeable amount of traffic at the moment and it's causing a build-up in the town, which is forcing people to take alternative routes. The docklands are favoured by a lot of commercial and commuter traffic."

Most of the land at Sligo docklands is currently used for commercial purposes and there has been little or no residential development thus far. "The Sligo Bowl is gone and was converted into commercial retail units," said Bennett.

At Rosslare it is very unusual for space to come on the market. Kehoe and Associates of Wexford are however the letting agents for a 557 square metre (6,000 square foot) warehouse at Kilrane, in Rosslare Harbour. The privately-owned premises is available on a short-term lease of £20,000 per annum.

Adrian Haythornthwaite of Sherry FitzGerald Haythornthwaite in Wexford said that there's practically no movement in and around Rosslare Harbour in terms of commercial/warehouse lettings.

Land there is relatively cheap and plentiful and many companies involved in storage and warehouse space opt to buy a site and build a purpose-built premises.

One source said that since CIE is the major landowner there and it also owns and manages the harbour itself, its presence skews the market and dictates land values.