Local residents and Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien said they had “constructive” talks on the Dublin Airport passenger limit.
The Minister met residents who have demanded the Government tackle noise and health issues before resolving the row over the 32 million a-year passenger cap imposed by planners on the airport.
The St Margaret’s The Ward Residents’ Group, which represents people living closest to the hub, and a spokeswoman for the Minister, dubbed the talks “constructive” following the meeting.
Residents’ spokesman Liam O’Gradaigh said the group stressed concerns about policies that favour Dublin over regional airports; an alleged €800 million yearly health cost arising from noise; and the need to ensure airlines use flight paths for which planners have granted permission.
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Locals complained of the impact on their lives in the three years since Dublin Airport opened its north runway at the launch of a report last month.
“We told the Minister of the importance of having local residents’ involvement in developing the new aviation strategic plan,” he added.
[ Living near Dublin Airport: `The noise is overwhelming'Opens in new window ]
He argued that Government should address the fact 85 per cent of passengers travel through Dublin while “Cork, Shannon and Knock” were underutilised.
However, Sara Ryan, director of communications with the State airport operator DAA, pointed out that this was the pattern in many EU countries.
She said Amsterdam Schiphol had 86 per cent of Dutch national traffic while Vienna handled 90 per cent of Austria’s passengers.
Ms Ryan argued that curtailing Dublin risked prompting airlines to shift routes out of Ireland.
The DAA spokeswoman stressed that experts designed the paths taken by aircraft taking off from Dublin’s north runway in line with safety regulations set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, part of the UN.
“The role of the Irish Aviation Authority is to review the flight paths proposed and ensure they align with safety requirements,” she added.
DAA is evaluating the methodology used in the report that calculated the residents’ health bill at €800 million, according to Ms Ryan.
She noted that it was based on a study done for Brussels Airport, which assumed the same conditions applied in both cases and said DAA would take time to see how it applied in Dublin.
Mr O’Brien told the Dublin Chamber business group this week that he had sought advice from Attorney General Rossa Fanning on legislation that would lift the cap while respecting the independence of the planning process.
The Government has pledged to raise the limit following talks with all interested parties.
