The Dublin Airport Authority has said it plans to lodge a planning application for a new runway.
The airport's director, Robert Hilliard, said a new runway would have to be in place within the next five or six years to deal with estimated annual passenger numbers of more than 20 million. This figure is expected to rise to 30 million in the next 12 years.
It is estimated that the new runway will cost over €130m. Mr Hilliard said the runway would be built on land already owned by the airport
He said a second public consultation will take place this week in the Great Southern Hotel at Dublin to advise people on the scope and nature of the detailed Environmental Impact Scheme currently being completed.
He said that any constraint on the growth of the airport will also affect the wider local, regional and national economies. 'Research shows that the economic contribution of the airport directly and indirectly to the Greater Dublin region and to Ireland as a whole represents approximately 1.3% of Gross National Product per annum,' Mr Hilliard said.
He added that about 120 companies are based at the airport, supporting close to 12,000 jobs on the campus and an estimated 39,000 jobs throughout the country.
'The proposed new runway would facilitate additional aircraft and passenger traffic and support a significant increase in overall employment and annual income. This is a project of major local and national importance,' he said,
The proposed new runway will be located 1.7km north of the airport's existing main runway. It will replace an existing short runway and will be built on land already owned by the airport. It will be 3,110 metres long and 60 metres wide and will be connected to the existing complex by a series of taxiways.
Plans for a parallel runway have been incorporated in the Fingal County Development Plan since the early 1970s.
