Drone delivery company Manna expects approval for quieter aircraft within months
Manna
expects to have regulatory approval for new technology that would cut noise pollution from its aircraft by 40 per cent within months.
The company has drawn criticism from members of the Oireachtas and the public alike due to noise complaints after it set up a facility near Blanchardstown Centre last year, where its base is surrounded by popular fast-food chains and cafes.
Flying at 60km/h at a height between 50m and 65m, the drones can deliver food or coffee to local areas within three minutes, the company has said.
Manna chief executive
Bobby Healy
appeared before the Oireachtas transport committee on Wednesday and told TDs and Senators the company has developed and tested new technology that reduces noise levels by 40 per cent.
READ MORE
The technology involves new propellers and a reduction in the mass and weight of the aircraft.
He said Manna has been in talks with the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) about its plans 'for several months', and that it is currently awaiting approval for deployment.
Mr Healy said Manna has been testing the new technology at its facility in Moorock, Co Offaly. 'We continue to invest in technology to go even further — and we foresee a future where people will barely hear us at all,' he said.
While Mr Healy admitted the drones currently make a 'noticeable' sound, he claimed it was 'generally unobtrusive'.
The drones currently fly at a maximum of 65 metres above ground, and the reduced mass would allow them to fly at 80 metres, while a lighter aircraft also has 'a big impact' on decibel levels, Mr Healy said.
'Leading experts in acoustics science from Trinity College assessed our aircraft and found that while cruising at 80m, they emit just 57 decibels – quieter than a conversation – and only for around 10 seconds as they pass overhead,' Mr Healy said.
He said the 'noisiest part' of the delivery is when the drone arrives overheard and descends to 15m. 'It's pretty loud, I will admit,' he said. 'It's about 59 decibels. We will bring that down to about 55 with our new propellers and our mass reduction.'
Mr Healy said that while approval and its timing was a matter for the IAA, he expects it to happen within months.
'I can't say when we can expect the permission, but it's quite a tight regulatory process,' he said. 'We have submitted all the documents. I do feel it [will be] soon. It could be weeks, it could be months, but certainly not further.'
IAA chief operating officer Jim Gavin, also appearing before the committee, described the regulatory process as 'quite complex', but added that he would expect to see 'movement on it in the short-term'.
Manna raised $30 million (€25.6 million) in funding earlier this year as part of plans to expand its business in Ireland and further afield. It has also lodged plans with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for an aerial food delivery hub in Dundrum.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
Fine Gael significantly outspent Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin on elections last year
Fine Gael spent significantly more than either Fianna Fáil or Sinn Féin on elections last year, according to party accounts provided to the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo). Fine Gael was the biggest spender overall on elections in 2024 and also the highest spender on the general election, according to the consolidated accounts of the parties. The accounts, published by Sipo, show Sinn Féin is the richest of the three big parties, with more income, stronger cash balances and an unmatched reserve of €8.7 million at the end of 2024. Sinn Féin, like the other parties, ran a significant deficit last year, in its case amounting to €1.6 million. However, it still finished the year with €4.6 million in cash, down from €5.3 million at the beginning of the year. READ MORE By contrast, Fianna Fáil had just €470,000 in cash at the end of the year. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil appear to have funded some of their election expenditure through loans, which the two parties will pay back over the coming years as they prepare for the next election, though Fine Gael is in a significantly better financial position than Fianna Fáil. The days when Fianna Fáil outspent everyone at election time are long gone, the figures suggest. This time, the consolidated spending shows Fine Gael spent €3.22 million on elections last year, substantially ahead of Sinn Féin on €1.7 million and Fianna Fáil on €1.69 million. Fine Gael spent more than €2 million on the general election, more than twice as much as Fianna Fáil, which spent less than €950,000, according to the consolidated accounts of both parties. Despite being outspent, Fianna Fáil won 10 more seats than Fine Gael in the general election. Sinn Féin also beat Fine Gael by one seat. [ Three constituencies that show why Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin outperformed Fine Gael Opens in new window ] [ Expect the unexpected: What the 2024 local and European elections have taught us Opens in new window ] Sinn Féin and Fine Gael each spent about €600,000 on the European elections, according to the accounts, with Fianna Fáil's figure much lower at about €320,000. Fine Gael also outspent its rivals at the local elections, with the accounts showing expenditure of €512,000. Fianna Fáil reported spending of €289,000, while Sinn Féin's accounts show it spent just €77,000 on the local elections. All three parties received more than €5 million in State funding last year, while the accounts of all three parties show they are also reliant on fundraising among their members. Sinn Féin has the highest income from donations, with €182,000 raised from individual donations and €52,000 from corporate donations. The party's organisation in Northern Ireland is not governed by the strict rules on political donations that are in place in the South. [ Who is the American who left €535,000 to Sinn Féin's US fundraising group in her trust? Opens in new window ] But it is Sinn Féin's cash pile – likely linked to a mysterious bequest from a reclusive Englishman, William Hampton, who left more than €4 million to the party in 2019 – that sets it apart from its rivals. Along with a substantial property portfolio, it means the party can record 'reserves' of some €8.7 million in its accounts. This is the first year Sipo rules have required the parties to produce consolidated accounts that show the financial dealings of all units of the organisations above a certain size. In a statement, Fine Gael cautioned against comparing the election spend of the different parties in the accounts. [ William Hampton: The life and extraordinary times of Sinn Féin's million-euro donor Opens in new window ] 'It would be inaccurate to use the published annual accounts of political parties without context to compare election expenditure by political parties,' the party said in a statement. It said there 'appears to be significant divergence in the approach to Electoral Act compliance by different political parties ... The extent to which election expenditure is funded by the Party HQ, by party subsidiaries that are required to be reported under the Electoral Act, or by party subsidiaries that are not required to be reported under the Electoral Act, varies for each party and candidate. This also has a bearing on the figures reported.'
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
Worker forced to retire at 65 awarded €18,000 by Labour Court
A factory worker who was forced to retire at 65 has been awarded €18,000 by the Labour Court . Liam Murphy had worked as a general operative at Deepak Fasteners in Shannon, Co Clare for 45 years. When he turned 65 in February 2022, he asked to continue working but this was rejected by the company. While Mr Murphy did not appeal that decision at the time, he lodged a claim in July of that year with the Workplace Relations Commission claiming he had been discriminated against on the grounds of age. When the WRC found that his complaint was not well founded, he appealed the decision to the Labour Court. READ MORE Company chief executive Seamus McGiff told the court the company was concerned about the age profile of his workforce and the need to make new hires with specific skills as the loss-making business tried to pivot in a new direction. However, given that there was no mandatory retirement age in Mr Murphy's contract of employment and there had been no issues with his performance, concentration or health and safety concerns, the court found in his favour. It found the company 'did not engage in any meaningful way with the complainant's request' and concluded 'that there was no objective justification' the company could rely on to support its decision to force him to retire simply because he reached the age of 65. Welcoming the decision, Rachel Hartery of trade union Siptu 's Workers Rights Centre, which represented Mr Murphy, said: 'Our member was simply discarded by this employer after 45 years of loyal service, as was evidenced by the complete lack of consideration given to his requests to work on for one year beyond age 65.' Siptu said there appeared to be no urgency in Government to advance legislation introduced earlier this year to allow but not compel workers to remain in their employment until they reach the State pension age.
Irish Times
6 hours ago
- Irish Times
Wall Street boosted by string of upbeat corporate earnings
Global shares were mixed on Wednesday, with most big Wall Street equity indices nudging higher and European shares retreating. Dublin The picture at home was reasonably positive as Euronext Dublin outperformed European peers to finish the day up 0.7 per cent. However, food group Glanbia had a day to forget as it sank 4.7 per cent. A trader suggested the move was rooted in a number of negative reports for peer groups rather than any stock specific news for the company itself. 'One of them was Bellring in the US, which published third quarter results that disappointed the market,' he said. 'They were down a whopping 32 per cent on Tuesday and recovered about 5 per cent today.' READ MORE In the same sector, food giant Kerry Group finished down 1 per cent. Among the home builders, Glenveagh Properties was up 0.8 per cent, while Cairn Homes climbed 0.4 per cent. It was a good day for the banks as Bank of Ireland and AIB climbed 4 per cent and 3 per cent respectively. London British equities closed marginally higher as investors assessed a slew of corporate earnings and awaited an expected Bank of England rate cut on Thursday. The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.2 per cent, rising for a third consecutive session after touching a four-month low on Friday. The domestically focused midcap FTSE 250 rose 0.1 per cent. Heavyweights Shell and BP boosted the benchmark index, up 1.3 per cent and 3.1 per cent respectively. Shares of miner Fresnillo continued gains from the previous session with an 8.9 per cent rise. Conversely, British healthcare stocks slipped 1.4 per cent after Trump said on Tuesday that Washington would initially place a 'small tariff' on pharmaceutical imports, eventually increasing it to 250 per cent. AstraZeneca and GSK were down 1.5 per cent and 1.7 per cent respectively. Europe Shares in European pharmaceutical companies sank to a four-month low after Trump repeated his threats to introduce tariffs on drug imports 'within the next week or so'. Europe's Stoxx Healthcare index slid by 2.8 per cent, falling to its lowest level since mid-April, shortly after the US president's initial 'liberation day' tariff announcements. Bayer, the German maker of products including aspirin, was one of the top fallers in Europe. Its shares slumped 9.9 per cent after the company reported a 5 per cent drop in pretax profit, excluding one-off items, for the first half of the year. The Cac 40 in Paris edged up 0.2 per cent, while the Dax 40 in Frankfurt rose 0.3 per cent. New York Wall Street gained, boosted by a string of largely upbeat corporate earnings, while growing expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut provided additional support. At 11.18am eastern time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.22 per cent ahead; the S&P 500 advanced 0.54 per cent; and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.72 per cent. Arista Networks was a standout, soaring 17.5 per cent to an all-time high after the cloud networking company projected current-quarter revenue above estimates. McDonald's was 2.8 per cent higher after the fast-food giant's affordable menu drove global sales past expectations. Global Payments also advanced 5.2 per cent after topping second-quarter profit forecasts, while Match Group, the parent of Tinder, jumped 14.1 per cent after surpassing revenue expectations for the same quarter. Apple jumped 5.2 per cent, providing the biggest boost to the S&P 500 index, as a White House official said the company would announce a $100 billion domestic manufacturing pledge. The stock was on track for its biggest single-day jump in nearly three months. In contrast, Advanced Micro Devices tumbled 7.7 per cent as its data centre chip revenue disappointed. Super Micro Computer plunged 20.7 per cent after missing fourth-quarter sales estimates, dragging rival Dell down 2.4 per cent. – Additional reporting: Agencies
