Ruth Coppinger
Dublin West · People Before Profit-Solidarity · Ireland
“Next Wednesday, the trial continues of the Ulm five, including the Irish citizen, Daniel Tatlow-Devally. A delegation of TDs and Senators, including me, will attend the trial in Stuttgart next week.”
“This man said of one woman that he would attach her to a concrete block. He said of another that he would set fire to her. Should this person be getting a pay off from the Army? No, of course, he should not. He should have been put on trial.”
“I have very little time left, but I want to put on record that the woman in question was abused by an Army officer using military equipment and surveillance technology, which is extremely scary. She made a complaint, which has never been pursued.”
“When is the victims of crime Act 2017 going to apply the Army? The Women of Honour have pushed for change so that if there is abuse within the Army there will, we hope, be mechanisms to deal with that, but what about women who are abused by Army personnel who are not in the Army?”
“This officer was involved in a GoFundMe campaign, where rapists' names were used as a joke by the various men who contributed to it. I do not think rape is funny and the Army should not either. That GoFundMe campaign was left up for a long time. Why is the Army a law unto itself in relation to gender-based violence?”
“The victim's belief is that the military prosecutor has evidence of a very dangerous man but for some reason, the Army does not seem to be concerned because it has not prosecuted him on those charges. Why would the Army not want to prosecute somebody? Are we at war or something? Why is it so secretive?”
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“I reiterate that this argument that it is regulated and there are more hares in areas where there is coursing and therefore we should keep hare coursing as to ban it would drive it underground is not an argument against changing a law to outlaw something. According to the Minister of State, there are loads of inspectors right now going around the coursing clubs, so those inspectors could look after the illegal, underground coursing. The reality is that a study done by The Journal found there were 200 coursing events and four inspectors between 2019 and 2024, so there is very little inspection taking place. I will finish by asking whether the Minister of State is in favour of cockfighting because, to me, it is exactly the same. It is unleashing two animals for one to damage the other for the entertainment of human beings.”
“Sinn Féin had a debate on fox hunting and this is exactly the same. It is a blood sport and I do not understand how anyone would stand over it. It does not augur well for what Sinn Féin would do in government if it is not willing to move on these issues in opposition. In relation to some of the arguments made by Deputy Aird, I live in a place called Buzzardstown. A buzzard is a bird of prey. The Deputy stood over there telling us what a bird of prey does and I do not know what the linkage was with this issue. As has been said by other Deputies, it is constantly recited in here and happened with fox hunting, that when a fox does something that is completely natural to a fox, therefore foxes are bad. There is no justification for what was cited by the Deputy.”
“A total of €500,000 was given to the clubs between 2017 to 2022, which came largely from the Government funding that is voted in this Dáil every year. I will move on to the political aspect of this. We are calling for a free vote. Free votes have been given in the Dáil when it comes to women's bodies and women's health. If you like, they are given to things that are demonised. This should be demonised and I think there should be a free vote., Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have for far too long stood over these really bad animal rights practices. I cannot believe Sinn Féin is coming back again with exactly the same arguments recycled from a few months ago in relation to fox hunting. They are probably word for word: regulated, set up a commission, etc. This is completely out of touch with the population and its base.”
“We are hearing incredible claims about millions being made from this. The Minister of State said there was a study in 2022, but he did not give any source. Maybe the Minister of State can give us the source for that. Unless he is talking about illegal gambling or something, there is no verification of €70 million anywhere. It is true that all these blood sports are linked with gambling, which is something that we should striving to eliminate completely in society and certainly not be encouraging. The damage that it does is untold. That is the only way in which it is being maintained. The Minister of State also said that it does not get any State funding. However, according to figures that I have seen, Greyhound Racing Ireland gives money to these coursing clubs.”
“The assumption by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, is that they survived and went on their merry way. It is like saying that cancer patients could not be found and, therefore, they are all still alive. It just does not make any sense. On the outcome for coursed and uncoursed hares, one of the 20 coursed hares could be relocated alive six months after release compared with eight of 20 of uncoursed controlled hares. There was a massive difference in the outcome. I emphasise that this is cruel to dogs as well. It is linked with the greyhound industry. Often, dogs only last one or two seasons. The Minister of State is particularly affiliated and has a liking for this industry, but that is the reality. Greyhounds live a very short amount of time if they are raced in this way. I will mention the financial aspect.”
“They are not on their own but are in with many other animals, which is against their nature. The NSPCA is supporting this Bill and asking TDs to be allowed to vote for this Bill. It is asking for a free vote. The Minister of State mentioned a couple of things. He said that it was so well-regulated and inspected that there was no difference in the outcome for coursed and uncoursed hares. I have a summary of the study that he referred to. There were 40 hares that were GPS tracked and, across all cohorts, nine out 40 animals were confirmed alive at six months and three confirmed dead. The remaining 28, or 70%, were lost to the study. Their fate was never determined. In other words, we cannot have a credible study with this lost 70%.”
“I am in favour of minority rights, but the point of these polls is to show how unpopular these practices are and how out of touch this Government is in maintaining them. They are backward, medieval and barbaric. That is why people do not agree with them. Unlike foxes hares are protected, yet we are allowing them to be licensed to be captured. The Minister grants these licences to specific clubs; I understand there are 89. The NSPCA is the national body - a very respected authoritative body - in relation to animal welfare. This is what it had to say about hare coursing: it is a "cruel, outdated, and barbaric practice, which is currently permitted to satisfy just a small minority of Irish people." That is an official animal welfare organisation. Hares can be held for 12 weeks before being released to be chased by dogs.”
“In many ways, this is worse because it is taking a wild animal, capturing it, putting it in cages for weeks on end, making it do something completely unnatural and then it is allowing greyhounds in to chase after it in a very enclosed space, although I know there are escapes. I noticed that the Minister of State kept using the word "muzzled" in his answer. The hare does not know that the greyhound is muzzled. It does not make any difference. They are running for their lives in terror. They can still have damage done to them, including injuries and so on. The fact that the hare is protected but licences are given to capture it and treat it in this way is beyond belief. In 2019, a poll was done showing that 77% wanted a ban on hare coursing. The Minister of State said that we do not run the country by poll, apparently.”
“Enclosed hare coursing, like we have in Ireland, was banned in Britain in 1914. It was deemed unsporting. It is so contrived and unnatural. Those were the words that were used by the coursing clubs that agreed with it being banned. Ireland is becoming a complete and utter outlier on animal rights. I am embarrassed at some of the things that I am about to talk about here. If anybody is listening from any other country, it is the idea that some of these practices are continuing in 2026. We have seen other countries banning greyhound racing, such as Wales, Scotland and New Zealand. This is way worse. We had a debate on fox-hunting here a few months ago.”
“Are there no checks and balances that can be done? This is not the first time. Student Campus college is not a new offender. There was a report that an Algerian man is owed €2,137, has been waiting 14 months and still has not gotten it back. What does the Minister of State's Department do when complaints like that are made? The school is allowed to continue to operate and advertise itself as a provider. As the Minister just said, Ireland has this great reputation for English-language tuition. There seems to be light-touch regulation again and again by this Government. The way the system is structured is leading to this as well because we know people have to register at a school and then apply for the visa. There is an incentive there. I am not saying this is the case with Student Campus college, by the way, to quickly clarify that.”
“Maybe it is time that the State get involved in this rather than leaving it to any private individual or private company to set up a language school, take money off desperate people who want to come here and learn English, and then just go away with that money. The Minister of State has said there is no function for the Department here. I only got this answer handed to me as the Minister of State started reading it. It really would be helpful if we could get these replies in advance. People were happy to take fees from international students and the moneys international students bring here, which is a significant amount. They pay rent and so on. However, there does not seem to be any checks of whether these schools have reserves of funds - for example, to pay staff wages - or whether there is something like a sinking fund.”
“What immediate steps is the Government taking to protect the students affected by the closure in Limerick? How exactly will the Government improve the English language school sector to ensure that international students are protected? The issue is not about this being a back door, which the Minister made a statement about recently. The implication was that some use the language schools to get visas. It is about ensuring that international students can be protected. God knows, many of their families will have scrimped and saved for them to come here to learn English and improve their lives. What about the staff working in these schools? I know Unite The Union was making attempts to unionise staff following on from a previous closure. I would certainly encourage all workers to get involved in a union so that they have protection.”
“Already, there are unpaid wages owed to teachers since the closure and there is a distrust from teachers about this school, with teachers saying they do not trust the organisation. There is still no clarity on the reopening date either, and whether all students will be accommodated or what options will exist for students seeking refunds and transfers. There are broader issues here. Oversight of English language schools has been an issue for a long time, particularly regarding the adequacy of the learner protection arrangements and the safeguards for international students. These types of schools are invariably privately owned, with a lack of regulation in the sector. In May, 250 students in Monaghan were still asking for refunds from one of those schools after their reapplications for visas were rejected.”
“This is a type of insurance that if the school fails to offer courses, alternative arrangements will be made. There have been reports indicating that a plan is under way for the school to reopen under new ownership or management, with the aim of allowing students to finish the courses they have paid for. I do not know if the Minister of State has clarity on this. The school lost its PON status in June and no learner protection has been issued since May. It is unclear, going forward, how that will operate under new ownership. It is simply being stated that there is an emergency fund that existed from previous owners and a reliance on insurers doing the right thing. Teaching staff have reportedly been offered their positions back if they teach under the temporary arrangements.”
“Student Campus college in Limerick suddenly closed last week, leaving hundreds of international students and staff in limbo. I was contacted by people in Limerick to raise this issue. Approximately 250 students were already studying in the school, with reports that over 300 additional students had paid fees before travelling to Ireland. Students were left with uncertainty regarding their education, tuition fees and immigration status. Student Campus college on the interim list of eligible programmes, ILEP, approved providers list. This list is provided by the Minister for justice for approved programmes. The school stated it had learner protection through an academy-plus arrangement with the trade organisation Progressive College Network.”
“If he is saying he has met them, then he should agree to meet them. I definitely do believe we should call a vote on this Bill. It is an extremely important one.”
“They said the Minister has not met them since before last summer, so we have two conflicting statements then. I have to believe the residents. They have now gone to court because they have not been able to meet the Minister. I also want to say something else because the Minister has used the issue of jobs to justify this. Nobody is saying that any jobs should be lost. This is actually about expanding the airport. We actually cannot have unlimited growth all the time. We have to take into account the impact on the environment and climate change and on local residents too. To talk about job losses is just really out of order in that sense. We are very rushed again. We are not going to get to some of the other very important amendments that have been tabled. The Minister needs to meet the residents.”
“The message continued by saying the scheme is not fit for purpose and that it is grossly unfair that the costs of expansion and of the airlines doing business are being borne by local residents. Unfortunately, that is the reality. During the hottest months, the flights are the worst. I also want to ask the Minister about having said earlier that he had met residents.”
“How could the Minister not accept such an amendment? It is as plain as anything that there should be some obligation on the DAA to review how it works. We only have a minute or so left. I have two very quick things. One concerns a resident who sent this communication last week. I was making the point about the DAA and insulation. This person said that as they typed the message in their back garden, planes were flying directly overhead, every window in the house was open and their four kids under seven were in bed. This person added that their house has not been noise-insulated by the DAA and wanted us to know that the existing insulation scheme has not installed a single air conditioning system for affected residents in order to remove the necessity to open windows during the hottest and loudest months.”
“We will probably be in the same situation with high temperatures again next week or the week after, and much more frequently. We should not be passing a Bill like this that increases the number of flights. We should be discouraging people from taking flights. We should be reducing the number of flights in light of the climate crisis. Instead, the Government is marketing Dublin Airport as a hub on a European scale. That is ludicrous because we do not have the transport infrastructure to facilitate such a thing. We do not have a light rail system. At the very least, the Minister has to commit to meeting residents in an open way and to cater for overall the impact that what is proposed will have on their lives if the Government rams the Bill through tonight. That is the very least that should be done.”
“My area of Dublin West is obviously not the only part affected but Hollystown, Hollywoodrath and Portmarnock are going to have much increased flights. The Minister was on Fingal County Council at the same time as me when decisions were taken by local authorities to allow development at the outer limits of Dublin Airport. It is not that long ago. Now those people are going to find that the noise levels will be even more intolerable when the projected massive increase in passengers goes ahead. The night-time flights will be at least doubled. That is the estimate of many residents. Rather than 60, there will be 120. The aircraft noise competent authority is not fulfilling its brief. What about all the arguments around us being in the middle of a heat dome? Europe is enduring the hottest temperatures it has ever had.”
“It was not developed in the way anticipated in years gone by, and it could be an area where homes are built to facilitate people who want to move. All of these are very practical things that need to be ironed out with residents if this goes ahead, which, of course, it should not. What about the best insulation and air conditioning? Mechanical ventilation is mentioned, but people are not able to open their windows any more. Think of the effect of the heat we had last week on residents who live near Dublin Airport who cannot open their windows. All those people should have proper air conditioning. Residents are considering a polluter pays fund. The airlines are going to be the polluters, and they should pay for these mitigation measures. This is standard under any international laws.”
“If airport capacity is being increased, one would imagine that a fund would be set up for things like sound insulation and relocation for those who want to move, as some do. I have been told - I would like the Minister to clarify this - that has not happened and that residents have been forced to go to court because he has not met them about this. That is the very least that needs to be done. For example, the planning for real process was one of the initiatives that was set up. It was to get an expert planner to discuss it. The residents say they cannot get funding for it and that the Minister will not meet them. There are people who will be impacted by this increase, should it go ahead tonight, who are willing to relocate. Thornton Hall is an area that has been mentioned.”
“The feeling of many residents in the area is that what is being attempted is to turn Dublin Airport into a European airline hub like Frankfurt, Schiphol, Charles de Gaulle and Heathrow airports. One of the principal reasons residents contest this is the lack of a night-time cap. All the main airline hubs have night-time restrictions. The combined total for the four airports I mentioned is less than that for Dublin Airport on its own and the night-time flight caps are not imposed at all in Dublin Airport. Planes do not make money when parked so the airlines are dying to get rid of the cap. I spoke to residents earlier today. Turning to the second amendment in this grouping, there are international duties and laws under environmental laws.”
“The Minister is moving this with undue haste before the summer. It is absolutely wrong that a Bill of this importance is being guillotined after two hours and many of the amendments probably will not get a fair hearing. I will comment on this grouping of amendments, which talk about connectivity. We made these points on Second Stage. Balanced regional development has gone out the window. We also have a duty to connect the west of Ireland and other airports, such as those in Cork, Shannon, Mayo and so on. The airlines are delighted with this because, potentially, everyone will fly into Dublin and then be ferried on another plane to an outlying area because most people visit locations in the west of Ireland.”
“Nobody has any issue with him meeting the diaspora - we are all in favour of that - but there is an issue with normalising somebody like Donald Trump in the current climate.”
“I am going to go on because I am not having my time cut short. The Taoiseach now seems to find and be able to separate out reasons why he should do these things. The latest is that he says sport and politics should not mix, and he has said that in relation to the Irish team playing Israel. Yet four of his MEPs obviously do think sport and politics mix because they have signed a complaint about Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president, and the farce of a World Cup that is being held right now, where a Somali referee was turned away, the Iranian team had to go to Mexico and three other teams were refused entry into the country and had to locate elsewhere because of the travel bans. The US is descending towards fascism. That is the reality of it. I do not know if the Taoiseach has any regrets about his visit.”
“We already debated the issue of the Taoiseach's St. Patrick's Day meeting with Donald Trump, a misogynist, homophobe, transphobe, genocider, funder of genocide in Palestine and convicted rapist but-----”
“How will the inquiry function when half of the groups involved are having nothing to do with it? When will they get the information they are asking for?”
“One of the biggest health issues that arose in this country related to Children's Health Ireland, CHI, scoliosis and child surgery. Now we find that four out of the eight groups have withdrawn from the scoping exercise that was to draw up the terms of reference for the inquiry. It includes the spina bifida and hydrocephalus paediatric advocacy group and many others. Another group has also reportedly left but not yet publicly. The reason for this is 12 unpublished reports to do with CHI since 2017, including the Dixon report. The groups are afraid that the issues in these reports will not be investigated by the inquiry. Parents are being asked to participate in these groups but they are not being given all of the information in order to allow them to participate.”
“While there has been progress, we can clearly see that the influence of the far right and the anti-LGBT lobby is also having an impact. Belong To has talked about the experiences of young people. I do not have time to go into all of the details but rates of depression, suicidal ideation and so on are all much higher. We should be very clear. We need to correct some of the myths that are put out there. No surgery is done on young people in this country, with the exception of surgery carried out on intersex babies as the result of a push for a strong binary in our society. We need to turn these statements into action. We need to continue to support the LGBT+ community. We need to challenge the scapegoating of trans people. We need to stand rock solid against that and against the scapegoating of other minorities.”
“I hope the Government and other Opposition parties will get behind my Bill to recognise non-binary and intersex people. Non-binary people are recognised in 17 other countries. Intersex people are also recognised in other countries. I will talk about trans healthcare. As has already been said, we have the worst trans healthcare in Europe. It has got worse even since last year's debate. A UCD report found a 13% increase in discrimination against LGBT+ people and an increase in the waiting lists. Some 23% of trans people report spending over €2,000 on healthcare because of the Government's failure. We do not have an informed consent model but a gatekeeping model. In the North, the Executive signed off on a ban on puberty blockers for teenage trans people, leading to a ban on all Assembly parties in eight Pride parades in the North this year.”
“These annual statements are important. It had to be called out when they were not tabled in June last year. However, they also have to be real. We saw remarkable progress in 2015 with the same-sex marriage referendum passing after a grassroots movement. This was followed by repeal, the Gender Recognition Act and huge social progress. However, this is a completely different decade. Hostility, transphobia, homophobia, misogyny and racism are being unleashed. Within Ireland, while the Government is not doing that or anything like it, certainly not openly, progress has stalled. Promises the Government made in terms of non-binary recognition under the Gender Recognition Act, which were part of the programme for Government, still have not been fulfilled.”
“He put them on a par with ISIS and jailed them as terrorists. That is not decent. It is absolutely reprehensible. To support a genocide is reprehensible. Good riddance to him.”
“The Taoiseach talked about Keir Starmer being decent and resetting relationships. If ever there was a Prime Minister who did moral bankruptcy, it is Keir Starmer. Here is somebody who got in with a huge Labour majority and proceeded to lean in to racism, anti-migrant sentiment, transphobia and every single thing you can think of. He inflicted austerity on pensioners and the disabled. Let us talk about Palestine. Deputies here are meant to be supporting Palestine and yet they are congratulating Starmer and wishing him well. What about the Palestinian families whose water he thought it was fine to cut off? What about the spy flights over Gaza which Starmer endorsed? He shared intelligence with the Israel Defense Forces, IDF, and exported military goods worth $169 million. He has jailed young people for committing non-violent crimes.”
“When are we going to hold building companies to account in this country? Light-touch regulation or no regulation at all is what happened here. It led to these situations where quarries were not regulated and, therefore, mica, pyrite and all of these issues have developed. To allow builders to build and move off, and to then have the residents themselves pay for safety issues in apartments, is completely out of order. It is beyond time that this was dealt with. I fully support the motion.”
“I am sure there are several schemes that the housing Department is involved in, but the fact there are schemes like that shows that there also has to be some scheme for the possibly hundreds of homes that did not have sufficient pyrite for it to be fixed fully under the remediation scheme. I want to send my solidarity to all of those affected by the defective concrete blocks issue. I have seen first-hand the impact it has on people's health. Where there is damp and dust, anyone with an asthmatic or respiratory condition could testify that it has made it much worse, but there is also the issue of dealing with a crumbling home. The home is the one safety and security people have in their lives. To see this constantly happening to the adults, children and teenagers affected is unbelievable.”
“I also want to raise the other building regulation issues that have arisen. I have been contacted by people in apartments in Ashtown who have had a levy put on their management fees in order to pay to fix fire safety defects. The residents, who probably paid hand over fist for the apartments, are being levied to pay to fix fire defects. They have applied to the Housing Agency under the statutory remediation scheme, but they had to go to TDs to ask if we can also push to see if they can get any reimbursement. What is the story? It is bad enough that they have to raise the money to get it fixed and that they are having difficulty getting reimbursed.”
“It was not the Government waking up one morning and saying, “We should do the right thing.” It was a campaign of public meetings in my own area, petitions, meetings with the council and meetings with politicians. That was the case in other areas as well. There were protests outside the Dáil before I was ever a TD. It was the residents who had to campaign. In fairness, the pyrite remediation scheme worked very well for the residents I spoke to, who were at level 2 and were able to get their whole home fixed and accommodation sorted out. Kudos for that, but it is leaving out people whose homes were said not to be sufficiently damaged. However, those homes are still heaving and there is still movement. It should not cost as much as it would to fix a house from scratch, or anything like that, but they need to be fixed.”
“The engineer who did the assessment also said there were huge levels of shoddy workmanship and shoddy building practices. The company that did those homes has moved on, with a new name I believe, as they do. It is building away and profiteering from the housing shortage. I do not know the figure but I know people in my local area who have been - diagnosed is not the right word - assessed as having pyrite level 1. They have not been able to avail of the scheme. Somebody has to fix their houses. It is the fault of the developer and the State for not having the building regulations in place that pertain in most advanced capitalist countries. They are just not in place in Ireland. According to the reply to a parliamentary question that I asked, the pyrite remediation scheme has fixed 2,932 homes. That was due to campaigns by residents.”
“It was going to finish this November. That cannot happen. As recently as yesterday I was in a home in my local area. The woman who lives there is a teacher and has owned it for 20 years. She bought an affordable home and it is still cracking. There are cracks appearing in the walls and ceilings and there are holes. There is movement of the home. The assessment she had done – this is a real problem – indicated the house had pyrite level 1, which is not enough to be fixed under the remediation scheme, whereby a house must have at least pyrite level 2. There are thousands of people in this situation where there are homes that are not going to be fixed by the scheme. What are they meant to do? Obviously they cannot sell the homes.”
“At the time of the last motion the standards that were used to determine remediation under the scheme were being revised and reviewed. People are essentially being asked to make a decision on retaining or changing a foundation based on uncertain grounds and a complete absence of long-term knowledge. This motion is asking for a full independent review of the standard and in particular wants the remediation scheme to acknowledge this uncertainty. The State has a responsibility to these homeowners. It cannot be a one-and-done situation. The State must provide long-term supports for those affected and it requires a long-term commitment from this Government. I will mention the experience of people of with pyrite in their houses in many counties. The Minister might clarify something about the Pyrite Remediation Board.”
“This is quite a technical motion but the basics of it are that people are in a situation where they do not know whether what the Government is providing is going to work and whether it will be enough. They cannot be the people who are left paying for this because of a lack of government regulation of developers. We know the history of the Minister of State’s party in particular, including the Galway tent and all that. The lack of regulation stems from that. Since the last motion was put on this issue I understand the number of homes affected by the defective blocks could rise to 20,000. That is up from the 9,500 mentioned at the housing committee last year. Only 435 houses built with defective concrete blocks, or 13% of the homes, have had remediation works and the State-funded scheme to address the situation has not been sufficient.”
“I have huge sympathy for the people affected by this in Donegal, Mayo, Clare, Limerick and other areas because I live in an area where we had the blight of pyrite. So many housing estates in our area were affected because the quarry was situated there. It did not regulate itself and there was a lack of Government regulation. Thousands of people were impacted by this and I campaigned on it and held public meetings on it over the years. This is slightly different but the principle is the same, namely, developers have been allowed to do whatever they want. Any time there are building defects they are not made to pay and it is often the State that pays. That is a political decision by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the other parties that have been in power with them.”
“The game is up now because residents got organised in various communities. I see this as a victory for communities over big tech. Tech is not inevitable and we do not have to accept every single thing that is foisted on us.”
“Nobody wants to see any jobs lost as the result of a business closing. Manna Air Delivery has stated that 10% of its 200 employees will be affected, so 20 jobs are potentially at risk. That is the fault of an employer for establishing a company without proper planning. It is extremely antisocial. It had no consultation. There was no assent or buy-in from the community. It is estimated that the company had approximately 1,000 customers. The population of Blanchardstown is 150,000. There was not huge enthusiasm for this technology. It replaced delivery riders on e-bikes. It replaced delivery drivers, too. I would imagine that the balance in jobs will even out. There were also environmental claims. The delivery had to be driven to the drone base from the takeaway. Huge claims were made about the benefits of this technology to society.”
“I urge that the framework specifically rules out these drones operating in residential areas. They cause considerable physical and mental health damage to residents who are suffering under them. The Minister of State said in his reply that the drone companies must comply. They are "subject to national laws, including environmental, planning and data protection laws". How come Manna Air Delivery was not so subject for two years? How come it was operating in bases that had no planning permission? Its representatives came in front an Oireachtas committee and told the residents that they could have a no-fly zone over their homes. When residents wrote to the company asking for that, it was never implemented. The company has been operating with impunity. It was funded, by the way, by Enterprise Ireland. I want to comment about jobs.”
“We now have a framework and we must ensure that the IAA is not lagging behind and enforces it, not just on behalf of the people it regulates, such as the drone operators, but also on behalf of the general public.”
“We need to ensure that commercial drone deliveries are not allowed again in residential areas. The national drone policy that will be drawn up must reflect that. Commercial drone companies must be required, like everybody else, to apply for planning permission for bases they are setting up and for the impact they have. Manna Air Delivery was operating in a regulatory vacuum. There is now a framework whereby the public are considered stakeholders and must be consulted. It seems that was something this particular company did not like. It did not like the fact that the public had to be consulted. It had strong opposition in Cork and Dublin 15. That it was mooted to go into Dundrum and Dublin city brought a huge reaction from residents.”
“It took a year-long effort by communities, certainly in Dublin 15, including the residents' group Drone Action D15. Public meetings in Dundrum were well attended. It makes no sense. Every piece of technology that comes along does not have to be embraced. It should depend on its social usefulness. One hundred people suffer unbearable propeller noise for one person to get a cup of coffee flown over to them. Who said we needed that? As a journalist said, this was answering a question that was never asked. We now need to look at the fact that the noise of drones in residential areas make them an unacceptable technology. There are loads of good uses for drones, and I am all for their use in topography, photography, emergency medicine and many other areas. Flying burgers, takeaways and coffees in residential areas is not a good use.”