A recording of the noise of a commercial drone was played in the Dáil as the House was warned that “our sky is going to become as busy as our roads”.
Opposition TDs highlighted the “dystopian future” Dublin and other cities faced because of the unregulated growth in the use of drones that are “not delivering blood or medicine. They’re delivering burgers and lattes for profit.”
Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon and Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger warned of the growing noise disturbance and intrusion on privacy because of the failure to regulate the increased use of commercial drones across the north and west of Dublin for fast food deliveries.
Mr Gannon called for a drone restriction zone to be created over Glasnevin which has been designated Ireland’s first autism friendly village.
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Ms Coppinger played the recording of the drone and said “in Blanchardstown, we’ve been suffering this for over a year and a half, and nobody’s listening”.
Mr Gannon said the autism friendly designation “carries responsibility to protect the sensory and the environmental stability the community relies upon. Unregulated drone activity, threatens that stability”.
He said the area is also home to protected bats and nesting birds and the drones pose a risk to the species “operating without any environmental assessment”.
The role of the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) is restricted to licensing and mechanical safety, he said as he called on Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien to “establish a temporary drone restriction zone” over Glasnevin. “It should be something that we can just clearly agree on.”
Ms Coppinger said that since drone company Manna began operating in the area there have been more than 170,000 flights “and the plan is for two million”. She added that they have now linked up with food delivery company Deliveroo.
“And let’s be clear here, they’re not delivering blood or medicine. They’re delivering burgers and lattes for profit.”
People are “losing their right to enjoy their backyard, they’re losing their right to privacy, and the noise is unbelievable for many, many people”.
She added that “drone delivery of fast food and consumer goods is not a public necessity”.
It “undermines the quiet residential character of the neighbourhood. It adds yet another layer of stress to daily life and reflects a broader problem, the growing incursion of tech companies into our communities without democratic oversight or meaningful accountability.”
Mr Gannon warned of a “dystopian future” of drone activity. “We have one operator at the moment” causing major annoyance and disturbance. “What happens when we have the second one, the third one,” he said.
The use of drones “could probably be beneficial in more remote areas” but for the city areas of Glasnevin, Castleknock “this is not a requirement”.
Minister of State Jerry Buttimer, replying for the Government said he agreed that “there must be other ways of being able to get home delivery done”, and he would bring the matter back to the Department of Transport.
He said the IAA is working with the EU on “developing guidelines and regulations around drone noises”. Two specific current regulations deal with ensuring drones are “safe and secure”.
He said that commercial drone operations such as Deliveroo delivery are “more closely regulated” and may require “specific authorisation”.
The Minister said “I actually agree with Deputy Coppinger. There must be other ways of being able to get home delivery done.”
Fine Gael Dublin West TD Emer Currie later said there are 300 drone deliveries a day over a three kilometre area and “we are severely lacking in commonsense regulations” to deal with companies doing this “relentlessly”.
Ms Currie’s party colleague Cllr Gayle Ralph put down an emergency motion with Dublin City Council for the local authority to use its existing powers to designate Drumcondra and Glasnevin as a quite area and ensure its formal recognition as a no-fly zone for drones.
