The owners of the 10 petrol stations let to Topaz in Dublin city have undertaken a strategic review of the stations. The company has also asked Dublin City Council to remove the restrictions on alcohol and hot food for consumption off the premises at its 10 stations in the council's area.

"The expansion of these successful service station formats to meet ever-changing consumer demands is central to the future growth and sustainability of Topaz service station operations, particularly in key locations," the document drawn up by Resource Property Investment Fund states.

Topaz, the fuel company assembled by Ion Equity, sold the majority of its property assets to RPIF in 2007 and leased them back to the fuel company.

RPIF wants eight of the stations zoned to provide neighbourhood services while it wants the station at Donaghmede to be zoned as a district centre and the station at Kylemore Road to be designated suitable for "the creation and protection of enterprise… for employment creation".

It says it wants to address the lack of competition in the grocery sector at six of its sites, "in recognition of their neighbourhood service function".

Topaz has also told the city council it is concerned about plans for the relocation of Dublin Port. It said that, as the most significant importer of oil-based energy into Ireland, it wanted any uncertainty relating to the long-term future of the port's location removed from the development plan.

"Constant speculation regarding the moving of the port is unhelpful and anti-business," it said.

Rival fuel importation and distribution business Tedcastles Oil Products, owned by the Reihill family, said it has plans to extend its terminal at Dublin Port and grow the volume of business it puts through Dublin.

"However, investment decisions can only be founded on an ability to plan with some certainty in relation to the business environment within which we operate. The speculation regarding the future of the port adds a degree of uncertainty that impacts on long-term investment decisions," wrote Gerard Boylan, acting group chief executive of Tedcastle Holdings. "We would have concerns about the strategy outlined… which promotes a vision of relocating the port."

Their concerns centre on the fact there are no details of where the facilities would be relocated and how the operational needs of port users would be served.