Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is a significant amount of negotiation through the consultation process with the Irish Aviation Authority and other safety actors. It was decided at that juncture that we would have ten 5 km buffer zones and around 33 3 km buffer zones. The 5 km ones were around major airports and aerodromes and obviously the smaller ones were around emergency helipads, barracks and some emergency military sites around the country. Some are in remote locations. The landmass in respect of the country is less than 2% because many overlap. There were significant negotiations in the original draft. It was 60 sq. m. We got it increased to 300 sq. m. That was through negotiation around issues such as glint and glare and issues for landing and taking off that the safety authorities had raised as significant concerns to them. It did take significant work to get past that hurdle. It does make it exempt now for every house in the country and there is an increased limit for the commercial sector, which is very welcome.