Darragh O'Brien
Dublin Fingal East · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“The appropriate next time to do that is once the ANCA decision is finalised and the public consultation is concluded, which will be on 3 September. Obviously, there will be a period required after that when the submissions to ANCA will be looked at. That is where the consultation is. That will happen over the coming months.”
“I have already mentioned the more than 3 million passengers who flew through Cork Airport and the growth of Shannon Airport, which has just had its best half a year and which now has over 40 routes. However, a small number of people are impacted and they need to be listened to.”
“Others did not want it at all. I think Shane Ross was Minister for transport at the time. That has been done. That is in place. This decision will be made. I do not have a timeframe. Hopefully it will be soon after the submissions from the public on the draft noise decision is made. That would feed into both.”
“An Investec report published in, I believe, 2022 said that to maintain the cap at 32 million between now and 2030 would jeopardise up to about 19,000 jobs. That is the reality of it. I support the workers in the airport. I am from the community myself. The airport has to grow in a sustainable way.”
“I have also made it clear that even though, and this is a fact, international aviation emissions are outside the scope of the climate action plan, we are taking actions aligned with the global approach to decarbonisation of the aviation industry, which is based on the International Civil Aviation Organization's basket of measures to ensur…”
“I have already highlighted the planning decision on the DAA’s infrastructure application. We discussed that at some length over the course of the last nearly two hours. That application seeks to raise the passenger cap to 40 million and provide for much-needed additional infrastructure at Dublin Airport.”
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“I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Order in draft: EirGrid, Electricity and Turf (Amendment) Act 2022 (Section 10) Order 2026, a copy of which has been laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 2nd July, 2026.”
“That is why I was at pains to say earlier that we protect that current application because communities, individuals and other stakeholders have engaged directly with it. It would not be appropriate to set that aside, nor am I actually suggesting that happen. Furthermore, I have actually specifically protected it, and it is referred to in this legislation. In that instance, I am not going to accept this amendment for the reasons I put forward.”
“I again refer the Deputy to the powers of a Minister to give directions to the DAA. That will not be confined. We have discussed at length here too the importance of the DAA being a good neighbour. I think this has improved in the short term but it needs to improve further. In relation to things like flight paths, I have made this very clear. We are going to have an independent assessment of it. Additionally, as was referenced earlier in relation to flights, and the decision, in particular, that ANCA has issued for a 14-week public consultation, I encourage people to engage with it. It is a good piece of work and will feed into the planning application for 40 million passengers currently with Fingal County Council.”
“This amendment proposes that I lay a report before the Houses in relation to the DAA's compliance with any direction I give it under the Bill. I think this provision is unnecessary. Under the Bill, the DAA is required to comply with a direction that I issue. Typically, this will relate to the provision of reports to allow the environmental assessments to be undertaken. If that information is not provided and the assessments cannot be undertaken, no order can be made. As such, it is in the interest of the DAA to comply with a direction I issue. I do not envisage a scenario where the DAA does not comply with a direction I give, so reporting on compliance will be unnecessary. In addition, it is open to Deputies to seek information by way of parliamentary questions.”
“We will continue to support and grow the jobs at Dublin Airport and everything else that relates to the other, indirect jobs that flow from smaller and larger Irish companies thousands of people derive their income from. That is an important consideration, I would say, and should be for everyone in this Chamber.”
“To respond to Deputy Ahern, I was not being facetious the last day and I will not be facetious now either. It is very clear what international connectivity is and that is why I am not accepting either of the amendments he tabled. I have also clearly covered our obligations with regard to environmental impact assessments and how they will be assessed through An Coimisiún Pleanála, so I do not intend to accept amendment No. 13 either. I think I have covered most of what was there, but I assure people that residents and those living in proximity are at the forefront of my mind in ensuring the airport can grow in a balanced way on the basis that it operates as a good neighbour, which it has not always done. I have reiterated my commitment to ensuring an independent assessment of flight paths. That will happen.”
“The airport has to grow in a sustainable way and it will. We are protecting the application that is before Fingal County Council. We have ensured that is the case with this legislation by specific reference to it. On future growth, the application right now would raise the cap to 40 million. The assessments that have been done will back up that 40 million. Any future growth would be based on an order that would be made. An application would be made to the Minister for a further increase if that was required in the future but you cannot just grow the airport and passenger numbers without having the infrastructure in place. That is why you need the new stands at the airport and all the various things that underpin the growth of the aviation sector and, indeed, Dublin Airport.”
“If we were to stick to 32 million and a decision were made tomorrow that the cap currently in place would apply immediately such that we reduced the passenger numbers from 36.4 million to 32 million, we would be losing thousands of jobs in Dublin Airport. Deputy Coppinger would probably be the first to come here on that. She might not be the first but many Deputies would rightly come in here and ask what we were doing to support airport workers. What I am doing to support airport workers is making sure there are good jobs in the airport and making sure people can have good careers in the airport, not just in aviation itself and the airlines but in maintenance, repair and overhaul, MRO, leasing and all the other elements of the aviation sector in which Irish people are at the forefront right the way across the world.”
“I think there are 41 routes out of Shannon now, which is the highest number it has had in maybe 30 years. Donegal Airport is servicing the north west and we have managed to protect that airport with the PSO changes we made. The Dublin-Derry air route will open in October through PSO funding we secured through the shared island fund. Kerry Airport in Farranfore is continuing to grow. Commitment towards regional growth is why I have changed the regional airports policy to ensure that airports can grow up to 3 million and still receive support from the State to grow. I want to see them grow. There are really good jobs there. Connectivity is important for tourism and for our wider economy as well.”
“That will form the basis for stakeholder engagement and look at the balanced regional development of our airports. All our regional airports are growing and that is good. Cork Airport is growing. Deputy Pa Daly asked what was happening with Cork. There is a €200 million capital investment happening in Cork Airport. I visited it only a few weeks ago. It is a great airport with further potential to grow and I want to see that happen. I was at the 40th anniversary of Ireland West, where I met the team and saw the new infrastructure that is in place, fire services training, new stands and its development plan. Hopefully, Ireland West Airport Knock will hit 1 million passengers by the end of this year. Shannon is growing. It grew by 9% last year. It not only has really good plans in place but there is growth happening.”
“Yes, Deputy O’Gorman was there. I was not saying he was not but I am saying there are others who have contributed here this evening who did not go to that committee to put forward their case. They are entitled to do it here this evening but I am just stating that. I did say, now that Deputy Murphy is here, that I have met residents. Deputy Coppinger made the charge the last time that I had not done so but I certainly have. On balanced regional development, national aviation policy has been rightly mentioned. Again, on Second Stage, I tried to be very clear on this. We have commenced work on the new national aviation policy, which is a commitment in the programme for Government. We will issue an issues paper on the new national aviation policy later this year.”
“That is being done and I have said that very clearly. It does give the Minister of the day the power to seek an application from the DAA for further increases. I am glad Deputy Murphy is back. I referred to him earlier - not in a derogatory way, I might add - in relation to his comment that the Bill has been rushed or not considered. There were ten weeks of pre-legislative scrutiny. It is a planning condition going back to 2007 and 2008. It is something that has been kicked around for a long time and has never been dealt with. Those pre-legislative scrutiny hearings were open to any Deputy to go and make his or her case or point of view.”
“That will be independently undertaken prior to the making of the order. An Coimisiún Pleanála will do that and I have set out a timeframe. Any charge that we are setting aside any environmental considerations is absolutely not true. I will not prejudice the outcome of that assessment, which I will consider fully before making an order. I have made it clear that even though international aviation emissions are outside the scope of the climate action plan, which is a fact, we are taking actions that are aligned with the global approach to decarbonisation in the aviation sector. That is the element in relation to this. We are not setting aside climate obligations, climate assessments or environmental impact assessments. That is not correct. We are protecting the original planning application.”
“That is not to dismiss any of the points that have been made here either, because this is just the first iteration of this. When I say it will protect the existing application, that application, if granted, would supersede any order I would make. Again, that is clearly set down in the legislation. If it is refused, my order stays in place. How do I make the order? This question has been raised by many TDs here, and especially Deputies Ahern and O’Gorman have raised it in relation to environmental considerations. It is clearly set out in the Bill. I will not be doing the assessments. The full environmental impact assessment will be done in line with an EIA directive, which will identify, describe and assess the direct and indirect significant effects of making an order on several factors including climate.”
“I actually supported the Bill but managed to get some changes to it - parts of it were a halfway house – and on foot of that we have commenced the review of where planning should sit for an airport into the future, as a strategic asset, how the noise authority interacts with the local authority and all those different things. There were people in the Fingal area at the time, as I am sure Deputy O’Gorman will know, who were not happy with ANCA sitting within Fingal County Council even though it is an independent organisation. There were people who had concerns about that. I commend ANCA on the work it does. It operates very well and has protected the independence it has had. I mention that because these were points that were made during debates, genuine concerns that may have been raised, that have not come to pass.”
“I take the Deputy’s point and am not dismissing it at all but, in line with the legal advice we had, fundamentally the policy direction that I wanted was to protect that application that is there because it has gone through a number of iterations by way of public consultation right the way through. It is a complicated decision-making structure between the aircraft noise competent authority, ANCA, and Fingal County Council. I was in this Chamber in the Opposition debating this when it was the subject of a Bill in 2018.”
“I will not say too much because that was a matter for a retention application as well. When you plan forward, you have to try to be very clear with people. Yes, I want the airport to grow. I want the good jobs that are in the airport to be supported and I want the reality of ensuring that happens in a sustainable way. I think it was Deputy Farrelly who mentioned SHDs and going over the head of local authorities. I agree absolutely - that is why as housing Minister I got rid of SHDs - but this legislation specifically references that we are protecting the existing infrastructure application in there. We are not overriding the application that has still not been heard.”
“I represent residents and constituents who work in the airport as well as those who have issues with noise. I meet them and engage with them all the time, so what they said is simply not true. There is a responsibility to balance sustainable growth at the airport, supporting the jobs in the airport and supporting the potential to grow further jobs and further routes. On flight paths, I said very clearly on Second Stage - not on foot of a proposal from anyone else but I welcome the main Opposition party looking at this - that an independent assessment of flight paths will happen. We need it to happen because, as Deputy O'Rourke said, there are people, including in north County Dublin, who saw applications made for certain flight paths that were granted and were not adhered to.”
“That decision in relation to aircraft noise has been published for 14 weeks, which would have a significant bearing on the scale and the breadth of the noise insulation scheme. I have put it on the record of the House here and directly to the DAA that the voluntary purchase scheme needs to be improved upon. There are people who have sold their homes under that scheme. It needs to be improved further. There are people, particularly on the western side, right on the airport campus, whose homes I visited. For others to make any suggestion that I have not met residents' groups is simply untrue. Again, that charge was made by Deputies Murphy and Coppinger. It is not true. Formally, I have had three separate meetings with three groups over the course of the past 12 to 18 months, listening to them directly.”
“I know the challenges for members within my community and my constituency and other constituencies like Deputy O'Gorman's. That has to be done in a proper and appropriate way. I said clearly on Second Stage that this has not always been the case by the airport operators. On page 8 of the Bill, someone bemoaned the powers that may be given to the Minister. That might be a well-held view but it states, "The Minister may give a direction in writing to daa for any purpose relating to this Act, including, but not limited to-". I have said it clearly on a couple of things. I have written to the airport and intend for it to do things such as improving and expanding the noise insulation scheme. I do not think Deputy Coppinger knew about ANCA's decision at the time.”
“Others have come into the House in a less constructive way, such as Deputies Murphy and Coppinger and others. We would be having a debate here, and rightly so, as to why we lost 4,000 direct jobs in the airport and 10,000 to 15,000 indirect jobs if we continued to operate it as it is now and did not try to address what is a legacy issue. To be fair, many Deputies recognised that as a legacy issue. There is an economic imperative here but there is a balanced approach. There is the good neighbour policy that needs to be operated by DAA, the airport operator. I said that really clearly on Second Stage. I have grown up beside the airport. I represent an airport constituency. I know the benefits of living beside the airport by way of proximity.”
“I will turn to regional development and the national aviation policy, which I clearly referenced in the Second Stage contribution. If we take the airport as it operates right now, last year, 36.4 million passengers flew through Dublin Airport. A small percentage, approximately 1.7 million or so, transited through it. They are passenger numbers, not flights. That was said earlier on and I know Deputy Ahern probably misspoke on that. They were passenger numbers as opposed to flights. That is important too. The ratio of passengers to jobs is about 1 million to 1,000. For every 1 million passengers, there are about 1,000 direct jobs. We have approximately 30,000 plus workers directly on campus and about 130,000 total between direct and indirect. I am speaking to amendment No. 1 to section 2, which is Deputy Ahern's amendment.”
“I thank the ten Deputies who have contributed to the debate so far. I will deal with the specific amendments first and a few of the other points. Some Deputies, such as Deputy Coppinger - not to pick her out - could have a look at the Second Stage speech. I outlined a lot of what we were talking about this evening on Second Stage. I will make a comment before I speak directly to the amendment but it is related. I know everyone in this House has an earnest and a well-held view about this. I think all of us agree that Dublin Airport is an important strategic asset for this State. That is the first thing. I will deal with regional as well because our regional airports are critically important for this country. By the way, it is not just those within the Republic. Derry and Belfast airports are on this island and are critically important.”
“This is a strategic reserve, State owned and State led, that is required and this legislation deals with the consenting process itself. With that said, I cannot accept the amendments tabled by the Deputies.”
“We have reached over 8 GW of renewable capacity integrated into our grid, with a significant pipeline of projects. Offshore renewables were mentioned. Our focus is on getting them into development by the end of this decade. I do not control the planning process. We are expecting two decisions, hopefully this year, in that regard. I do not know whether they will be objected to. I have, by the way, engaged with environmental groups in the environmental pillar on their views in relation to this legislation. It is necessary. It is urgent. That is why we need a bespoke planning approach to this. It is why the Deputies will see within the legislation that GNI is mentioned. The location of the site itself is mentioned specifically in the legislation. This is not about building gas terminals all over the country - anything but.”
“Many people have referred to long-duration battery storage. I agree we need to do more of that. We are actually ranked third in the European Union, behind only Germany and Italy. We have 1.3 GW of installed long-duration battery storage, with a major pipeline of projects to come through. On the amendments in the grouping, this legislation deals with the consenting process. It does not deal with the operation of it. The operation of it will be by way of separate legislation that will specifically state that this will be State owned, State led and State managed, used in extremis , not to increase gas usage in this country whatsoever. It is a risk that has been identified, that cannot be ignored and that needs to be address. We need to ameliorate that risk to our country as we continue to accelerate renewables.”
“There is a critical risk, which has been identified independently of Government, that if there was disruption to the gas supply that we receive - only 20% of our gas is produced domestically and the remainder is imported - or if, God forbid, something was to happen to the imported gas that we receive while we are still using gas within our energy mix, we would have serious difficulties here, not only from an economic perspective but from a societal perspective as well. We are, right now, dependent on interconnection. We are building further interconnectors on the electricity side. We are building the Celtic interconnector. We are investing heavily in our grid. Renewables are accelerating. Today, I intended the Energy Storage Ireland national conference. We are number three on energy storage.”
“This reserve will be in the form of a floating storage and regasification unit, which will be owned on behalf of the State by the system operator, Gas Networks Ireland. GNI is written into the legislation. The location of the reserve is written into the legislation, so it certainly is not about commercialisation of LNG in the Irish mix. This Bill is one of two. This Bill, in particular, provides the process for the direct application to me, as Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, for the development consent, with specified accelerated timelines for each stage of this bespoke consenting process. That is the case because this is urgent.”
“This legislation is in line with a programme for Government priority. It builds on what was the Energy Security in Ireland to 2030: Energy Security Package report. That genuinely cannot be ignored. That was again approved by the previous Government, of which Deputy O'Gorman was a member, back in November 2023. It is consistent with our climate plan because that speaks to energy security and is a transitional measure, reducing the risk of stranded fossil fuel assets. It is for emergency use only and does not support increased gas demand. The approval of this approach represents a culmination of extensive independent research analysis and engagement, all of which have been published. There was four weeks of pre-legislative scrutiny done at committee, and a good job was done there.”
“I thank the Deputies who put forward their amendments. First, to restate what the Ceann Comhairle said, I have nothing to do with whether amendments are ruled in or our of order. Deputy Whitmore, in particular, made that case, and Deputy Cronin less so. That is a matter for the Ceann Comhairle's office and completely independent of me. Can we just put in context why we are here? In March 2025, the Government approved the development of a State-led strategic gas reserve. That is critical to securing our energy security as we continue that transition to indigenous clean renewable energy, which we are doing, and this is not instead of that. In the first four or five months of this year we have seen about 50% of our electricity generated through renewable resources, which is good. We want to see that accelerate further.”
“I very much appreciate people's time here today and their input into this important legislation. Let us move on and get this done for the good of our country, of the Dublin region and of all of us by virtue of the jobs and economic growth it underpins.”
“We are not intending to rip up the planning Act in any way, shape or form. We are dealing with the legacy issue here in a way that is fully respectful of our environmental considerations. We are also ensuring that the airport operates under a good neighbour policy and improving the situation for the small number of residents who are very directly impacted. We want to operate and move this legislation through in an efficient way but in a fair and balanced way, which we will also do. I thank the Deputies for their contribution. I thank my own team from the Department who have been here assiduously taking notes of contributions, as have I. That will inform us as we go into the Committee, Report and Final Stages of the debate, which I understand we intend to have next week in the Dáil. Then from there it will go to the Seanad.”
“As a small island nation, we do not have large industrials here. We are moving in the right direction in relation to emissions reductions. We also have to see how we connect with the rest of the world, how we continue to drive growth in that sector, continue to ensure technological advances in aviation continue where we are reducing emissions and fuel use, and that we look at alternative fuels. We have to do more than look at it but also look at how we can improve the blend, as Deputy Ó Muirí was mentioning earlier in relation to the work we have done on SAF. We are one of the first European countries to come out with a SAF roadmap. This legislation is urgent. It is priority and it is needed. I welcome the support from most of the House, though not from all, to look very clearly at what we are intending to do.”
“I can assure Members that we will work on a constructive basis through Committee and Remaining Stages on this Bill. It is a very important piece of legislation. I am committing to the House on the independent assessment of flight paths that we will carry out. To those who came into the House and said there is no environmental considerations in this Bill, that is not true. It is absolutely not true. It is clear throughout the Bill. Those assessments will be assessed by An Coimisiún Pleanála; not by the Department or by me as Minister, and rightly so. I am just surprised the leader of the Green Party is not very clear on our obligations under the climate Act or our international obligations under climate agreements. The emissions of the aviation sector are not counted in that sector.”
“There are others who do not - let us be straight about that too - and I respect where they are coming from. A lot of that has been down to the way they feel and the way they have been treated over ten, 15 and 20 years. I want that to improve. The airport has to operate under a good neighbour policy. I can assure the House that the board that is there, the interim chief executive, the management team and the new chairperson who is coming in, are really clear about that and they want to that to happen. In many incidences they do. This is not just through community benefit funds and others. We need to see expansion of the noise insulation schemes and the other things I have mentioned. The new national aviation policy will be important in that regard to underpin this.”
“Lots of really good things are happening here. We cannot have a situation whereby, through a legacy planning condition, the main international airport - I say the main, not the only - and an airport that is also an international hub is stifled in its growth. If we do not address this we may not only be looking at stifling its growth. Deputy O'Gorman seems to want that we go back to the 32 million cap. Some 34.6 million passengers went through the airport last year. If you cut those numbers you are cutting jobs, connectivity and routes. I do not think anyone can say with any degree of honesty that this is something the general public across Ireland would want. Even among many of my constituents, the vast majority of them support the move to remove the cap in a sustainable way.”
“Some have asked about a national aviation policy. We have committed to doing that. We will be bringing forward an issues paper later this year and will seek public consultation into a new national aviation policy. We are world leaders in aviation. Some people want to ignore that. We have the largest airline in Europe. Some of the CEOs of the top companies all the way across the world are actually Irish. We have great expertise and a great track record in this sector too. If we look at the area of leasing, over 50% of the aircraft that fly across the world are leased in this country. Aircraft engines are leased in this country. There is also the expertise that our MRO sector has, underpinning tens of thousands of other jobs. There is a new facility open in Knock airport where aircraft engines are being repurposed.”
“It is also growing, thankfully. I want Ireland West Airport at Knock to continue to grow. Its numbers are up 13.5% year on year. I was at the 40th anniversary of the airport at Knock. It is a wonderful facility and it is touching on a million passenger journeys through there. Kerry Airport is at 440,000 passengers, up about 5.5% year on year. As regards Donegal Airport, also critical to the northwest region, we have made sure we are supporting the PSO service and the schedule there. That is really important. On an all-island basis, we are funding through the Taoiseach's shared island initiative, the PSO that will enable us to start the Dublin to Derry route again. That will also be great for connectivity in that area. We do have Belfast International Airport on the island as well. We have to look at this on an island basis.”
“That has been rightly raised here because some, like Deputy Richard O'Donoghue, have tried to paint it as some Dublin instead of any other airport thing. That is just not true. We are in the middle of a €200 million investment in Cork Airport at the moment. Let us look at the regional airports. Cork Airport is up 13% from 2024 to 2025 with 3.46 million passengers. Deputy Quinlivan mentioned Shannon Airport; I have been there on a number of occasions. It is up 9% in passenger growth on a full year basis to 2.3 million, with capacity to do more and a very good capital plan. We have now brought Shannon Airport into the regional airports programme. We have changed the regional airports programme to enable us to assist and fund Shannon. I want Shannon Airport to grow. It is growing. I want Cork Airport to continue to grow.”
“That is something I am committing to the House that we will have an independent assessment of the flight paths operated out of Dublin Airport. Dublin Airport does need to continue to grow, and it is growing. It underpins jobs, as Deputy Daly said on behalf of Sinn Féin. It is recognised, as other Deputies said, how many thousands of jobs, livelihoods and families are sustained by the airport. I also refer to the international connectivity we derive from the airport as an island nation within Europe. I was surprised that the Labour Party spokesperson on transport needed a definition to try to understand what international connectivity is about. I broadly welcome the input to the debate. Residents are to the forefront of my mind; as are those residents' jobs and people's jobs.”
“I have written directly to the airport in relation to expansion of the noise insulation scheme. We want to see that happen. The ANCA decision will allow that happen. We want to see improvement to the voluntary purchase scheme for those directly impacted. I talk about residents who I have met in St. Margaret's, the Ward and the wider area, but also residents in parts of Portmarnock for whom noise insulation needs to be addressed. Deputy Toole and some others mentioned flight paths, which was valid. I am committing here that we will carry out an independent assessment of flight paths. There have been issues for residents where flight paths and planning permissions have been granted and they have not seen those flight paths operate as they were approved. That is not acceptable. A retention application went in on that.”
“This cap will be lifted through this legislation in a sustainable and respectful way to adjacent communities. To complement that is the draft decision of the Aircraft Noise Competent Authority, ANCA, which it just issued last month in relation to noise. There are real noise issues with some communities. I listened to Deputy Coppinger and Deputy Ahern of Labour, whose points I may speak to in a moment, but as I said earlier on in the debate, the reality of it is I live beside the airport. I represent an airport community. We know how important that airport is. We know that in some incidences that relationship between the airport and some local communities has not been as it should be and needs to improve further. The draft regulatory decision by ANCA will be a very important one.”
“I thank all Deputies for the contributions they have made. I thank them for the constructive contributions that were made by most. It is unfortunate that the Members who were some of the most vociferous opponents and made the most impassioned pleas have not remained in the Chamber to get an answer to the questions or the points they have raised. I hope that will be what Committee Stage is for. I will deal with regional growth and regional airports in a moment, but first, this Bill provides us an opportunity to deal with a legacy issue that is there and, frankly, to deal with some issues that DAA under previous management did not deal with. This condition was on two planning applications going back to 2007 and 2008. It should have been dealt with before this. It is unsustainable that it remains in place.”
“We have reflected many of the recommendations from the pre-legislative scrutiny and the committee's report in the Bill. This Bill is of strategic importance. It is urgent that it be passed. For this reason, I thank the House for its consideration of Second Stage today. I look forward to moving the legislation to its conclusion next week.”
“This legislation is critical to ensuring we can grow Dublin Airport in a sustainable manner. It ensures and enshrines public consultation within it but sets strict timelines in that regard. We have also ensured that the existing planning application that is with Fingal County Council is fully protected. There is a process within this as well, in that the Bill gives the Minister of the day the power to preclude the imposition of further caps but also to seek applications from the Dublin Airport authority in this instance to raise the cap further in that regard. I am looking forward to the debate and the input from Members from across the House. I thank the members of the joint committee under the chairpersonship of Deputy Michael Murphy for the work they have done in this regard.”
“As such, it is my view that the approach set out in the legislation represents the most balanced and reasonable way forward. We are dealing here with a legacy issue. The Dublin Airport passenger cap does not serve this State or the people of the region well. I want the airport to grow on a sustainable basis and to operate as a good neighbour. I grew up beside the airport and have lived in the area my whole life. I know that tens of thousands of people derive income and good salaries from Dublin Airport. It is a critical part of infrastructure in this country and critical to our international connectivity. We have tens of thousands of people working there who not only derive an income there, as I said, but are at the leading edge of aviation, not just in Ireland but across Europe and the globe.”
“As such, this provides clarity as to the application of that Act to the actions that are under this specific legislation. As I mentioned, we are an island nation and we cannot ignore the strategic importance of Dublin Airport to our economy and the serious harm that would be caused to the economy, our people, our international connectivity and the international reputation of the State by failing to be in a position to facilitate not only future growth, but the current level of passengers and cargo at our main international gateway. The legislation I am proposing will not only allow us to ensure the sustainable development of the airport, but will also ensure that any environmental impacts will be independently assessed and the views of the public will be heard as part of that process.”
“The definition of operating restriction has been amended to align with EU regulations on the establishment of rules and procedures with regard to the introduction of noise-related operating restrictions at European Union airports within the balanced approach. Two transitional provisions that are no longer relevant have been deleted and a provision has been inserted to clarify that the 32 million passenger cap is not an operating restriction within the meaning of the 2019 Act. Section 39 provides a derogation from section 15(1) of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015. I want to explain a couple of reasons this is the case. First, the passenger cap was not a targeted climate measure and, second, international aviation emissions are excluded from the climate action plan.”
“An application for leave to apply for a JR must be taken within eight weeks and the applicant must have sufficient interest in the matter. Part 6 provides for amendments to the Planning and Developments Acts. Under these amendments, Fingal County Council and An Coimisiún Pleanála are prevented from imposing a passenger cap as a condition in future planning decisions related to Dublin Airport. However, this does not apply in the case of the condition being imposed following a noise assessment by the noise regulator, ANCA, under the balanced approach and it does not apply, in this instance specifically, to the DAA's live infrastructure application. This Part also provides for amendments to the Aircraft Noise (Dublin Airport) Regulation Act 2019.”
“However, an order will remain in place through any appeal or judicial review, JR, of that planning decision and if that planning application is refused, then the order will also remain in effect. This will ensure consistency and certainty for all stakeholders while DAA's planning application proceeds to a final planning decision. I believe this also addresses a recommendation, which, again, arose from the committee, for a sunset clause to be introduced. Part 5, which covers sections 27 to 35, inclusive, sets out the judicial review procedures. The validity of an order made under the legislation, or an alleged failure to carry out a function under the legislation, may only be challenged by way of judicial review.”