Laws needed on commercial delivery drones as Dublin residents turned into guinea pigs – they can't be pawns in tech race

The Irish Sun

9 hours ago

WE are all used to politicians droning on in Leinster House, but last week it was drones of a different sort that was centre of a Dail debate.
The chamber heard that
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Dublin Central Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon warned Ireland is at a 'tipping point' in the roll-out of commercial drone activity
Credit: GARY ASHE - COMMISSIONED BY THE SUN DUBLIN
Several TDs raised concerns from their constituents on noise pollution caused by these types of delivery drones.
Dublin Central
Writing in The Irish Sun today, Gannon says the Government has not kept pace with the industry on regulation.
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The deputy added: 'Commercial drone operators are scaling up fast and they're doing it in a regulatory void.
'That's why people feel unheard. And that's why the Government needs to step in. The question is simple — who is this technology serving right now?'
IN theory, drones zipping through the sky with your takeaway order might sound like progress — the kind of futuristic convenience we are expected to be grateful for.
But for the people living underneath them, it doesn't feel like progress at all.
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It feels intrusive, it feels unregulated and it feels like something that's been dropped into communities without any real thought for those who live there.
Right now, in parts of my constituency like Drumcondra and Glasnevin, drones fly daily above homes, schools, parks and playgrounds.
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They come with a persistent hum that cuts through double glazing and disrupts life.
This isn't the future — it's here and it's operating in a vacuum, without a shred of regulation on how it impacts people, our communities or even the environment.
I raised this issue in the Dail as residents are rightly frustrated. They are not anti-technology. They are not anti-innovation.
What they are opposed to is being turned into guinea pigs in a commercial trial that no one signed up for. A trial that is now unfolding directly over their homes.
NO PROPER RULES
There are no proper rules in place to assess or address how drones affect quality of life. The Irish Aviation Authority has said as much.
While the IAA handles licensing and air safety, the 'how to fly' part, it has no remit over issues that actually matter to so many residents — noise, planning, environmental impact or how drones interact with people in dense urban areas.
Take Drumcondra, for example. It was recently named as Ireland's first autism-friendly village.
And that recognition comes with a duty to protect sensory and environmental stability.
The repetitive drone noise — particularly from models using LIDAR (light detection and ranging) — cuts through that calm and undermines the work being done to make the community more inclusive for its neurodivergent residents.
RESTRICTED ZONE
And then there is the environmental risk.
This part of the city is a vital urban wildlife corridor. It is home to protected bats and nesting birds, yet drones are already flying through these zones without any environmental assessments, with no permits, and without any oversight.
That's not innovation — that's recklessness.
When local residents met with the IAA, the agency acknowledged these problems and they proposed a practical solution — a temporary drone restricted zone.
But for that to happen, the Minister for Transport must act. So far, however, there's been silence.
COMMON SENSE APPROACH
What we are asking for isn't radical. We're not calling for a ban.
We're calling for common sense, for regulations to catch up with technology, and for communities to be protected in the meantime.
If remote or rural areas want to pilot drone delivery services, that's different.
But high-density urban neighbourhoods in Dublin were never meant to become airborne delivery corridors.
Because the families in Glasnevin, the older residents in Drumcondra, the children with sensory needs and the communities trying to protect their local environment — none of them are asking for drone deliveries.
LOCALS WANT PEACE
They are just asking for peace, for quiet and also for someone to listen to them.
Too often, 'innovation' is used as a shield. Raise a concern and you're labelled 'anti-progress'. But that's nonsense.
Residents here have engaged in good faith with the drone operator, the IAA and with elected representatives.
Their ask is totally reasonable — to be heard and to see their needs reflected in the rules. What they have received instead is silence.
And worse, a sense that commercial interests are being waved through while the Government looks the other way.
CONCERNS IGNORED
We've seen this story before. Hype outpaces regulation, warnings are ignored and communities pay the price.
Each time, residents were told not to worry. Each time, their concerns were justified.
Communities should not be treated as afterthoughts in the race to adopt shiny new tech.
Drone delivery might have a role to play in future. But only if the future is shaped by the people who live in it.
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Ireland's skies could soon be as busy as our roads as drones deliver 'burgers and lattes'
Credit: Getty Images - Getty