Imposing annual passenger caps on Dublin Airport will be “arbitrary” as even the 40 million cap being sought by airport operator DAA will be surpassed within a short period, Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien says.
The cap of 32 million passengers a year, which has been in place since 2008, was breached in 2023 and 2024.
Mr O’Brien said the number of passengers passing through the airport was likely to exceed 36 million this year.
He said it was a clear aim in the Programme for Government to end the restriction on passenger numbers.
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“I want to see the cap in Dublin Airport removed. I think any artificial stifling of growth within Dublin Airport, it would be counterproductive for the country,” he said.
Last week, Fingal County Council, which is the local authority with responsibility for the airport, issued an enforcement notice that gave DAA a two-year period to comply with the planning conditions imposed by An Bord Pleanála in 2008.
However, there is a High Court-imposed stay pending the outcome of proceedings taking by a number of airlines against the cap. Mr O’Brien said that stay was likely to remain until the second half of next year.
He said the Government was now working on a new National Aviation Policy to address the issues of the volume of traffic around the State’s main airport hub. He said a key ruling by An Bord Pleanála on night flights at the airport – expected within weeks – would be critical.
At present no flights are allowed to take off from or land on the north runway between 11pm and 7am. The night-time movements of aircraft in the airport are restricted to 65 overall.
DAA has applied for those restrictions to be eased and there is expectation that aircraft will be allowed on the north runway between 6am and midnight daily.
This change has been strongly opposed by residents living in St Margaret’s and The Ward, two communities located at the perimeter of the airport.
Mr O’Brien, a TD for the constituency, said he was very conscious of the concerns of those communities and the challenges they faced. “I’ve been at pains to say to DAA to operate under the good neighbour principle,” he said.
He said some people in the St Margaret’s area were in effect living right beside the runway. He said the airport should improve its voluntary purchase package as the impact was significant on a small number of households. “They can’t be forgotten,” he said.
However, Mr O’Brien said the airport needed to expand and that included passenger numbers. He said if decision on night flights was in favour of expanding the hours then that would help passenger numbers grow.
“A total of 3 per cent of GDP comes from activity around the airport campus. It’s a critical driver for economic growth, and supports about 20,000 jobs directly and about 130,000 indirect jobs.”
He said basing numbers on forward projections over 10 years the number of passengers would exceed 40 million each year before then.
“One should ask the question, if DAA applies for a passenger cap of 40 million how long will that last? Is that cap going to be [surpassed]? Therefore should you have an arbitrary cap?”
Mr O’Brien also said he had consulted Attorney General Rossa Fanning and may bring forward legislation to prevent what he sees as overly restrictive limits.
He said the cap was put in 2008 as a response to inadequate transport infrastructure at the airport. He said the situation had changed since then, with a change in terms of roads, public transport and access.
