A record 36.4 million passengers travelled through Dublin Airport last year.
The figure represents a 5.1% increase in the number of people who passed through the two terminals in 2024.
The number is well in excess of the 32 million a year passenger cap.
The restriction, part of a 2007 planning permission, has been suspended by the High Court pending the outcome of legal proceedings in the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Airport operator daa said the 2025 figure demonstrates "the continued high demand for travel through Ireland's national hub airport."
The total includes 1.7 million transfer passengers, which was down 3% on the previous year.
Dublin Airport said it handled 100,000 passengers or more on 215 days across the year, which was 25% higher than in 2024.
In December alone, 2.7 million people travelled through the airport, an increase of 13% on the previous year.
The busiest day of the year was Sunday, 10 August, when 130,427 used the two terminals.
Daa said that sharp increase "reflected the suspension by the High Court of the seat restrictions that were in place the previous December due to the airport cap".
The 2025 passenger figure means that the number of travellers going through Dublin Airport has increased by 46% since 2015.
The end of year figures show that Dublin Airport facilitated a total of 255,000 flights in the year, an increase of 5% on 2024.
The operator of the airport said the punctuality of flights departing on time improved for the fourth year running in 2025 to 71%, an increase of 3% on the previous year.
The top five destinations in the year were London Heathrow, Amsterdam, Manchester, London Stansted and London Gatwick.
Managing Director of Dublin Airport Gary McLean said last year was the "busiest year in our 85-year history".
Mr McLean added that the 2025 numbers are "indicative of the huge demand that’s there to fly in and out of Ireland".
He said the figures are also indicative of "the importance of ensuring that Dublin Airport, as the island’s main gateway, has the capacity and infrastructure needed to meet the needs of our fast-growing population".
"Go back ten years and Dublin Airport had never handled more than 100,000 passengers in a single day. Fast forward to 2025 and 3 out of every 5 days saw 100,000+ passengers moving through our terminals," he added.
Mr McLean said the airport operation "ran smoothly throughout the year, with 97% of passengers passing through security in less than 20 minutes, boosted by the roll out of new best-in-class security scanning technology across both terminals".
He said transatlantic activity was strong in 2025 with the numbers processed by the US pre-clearance facility in Terminal 2 exceeding two million in a 12-month period for the first time.
The Dublin Airport Managing Director added that the facility "has room to accommodate higher numbers of passengers in the years ahead".
"It is essential that we soon start building new gates, stands and other infrastructure to set us up to meet the demand that’s coming over the coming decades," he added.
Mr McLean said removing the passenger cap is "key to that happening".
"We are encouraged by the progress being made by the Minister for Transport in introducing new legislation, which will see the cap removed, and its inclusion this week in the Spring Legislative Programme," he said.
He also said that daa "continues to work with other stakeholders to progress its Infrastructure Application through the planning system".
Legislation is being drafted by the Government to remove the passenger cap at Dublin Airport.
Speaking last week, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the coalition had made a "very clear decision that the cap will be removed".
"There is no question in my mind that that has to be delivered on," he added.
A bill to end the cap was among the issues due to be discussed at this week’s Cabinet meeting.
Dublin Airport and Cork Airport is operated by daa and its Chief Executive, Kenny Jacobs, is currently suspended from his role.
He was suspended as CEO on 15 December, after being presented with a list of 20 complaints by the board. It follows months of wrangling between Mr Jacobs and the daa board of directors.
Mr Jacobs began legal proceedings against his employer earlier this month.
On Monday, the High Court was told that an investigation into Mr Jacobs' conduct will be paused pending the hearing of his legal action aimed at allowing him to return to work.
