Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I strongly support amendment No. 86. The International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO, has a famous guidance on the balanced approach, the ICAO document 9829. Its four principles are: reduction of noise at source; land use planning and management; noise abatement operational procedures; and operating restrictions on aircraft. Over the past 40 years, many of the organisation's efforts have gone towards addressing airport noise. It has been addressing noise at source in the performance of the different aeroplane models, the processes for take-off, landing and so forth. For example, the ICAO states, "The first generation of jet-powered aeroplanes was not covered by Annex 16 and these are consequently referred to as non-noise certificated (NNC) aeroplanes (e.g. Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8)." It is clear that, even in the balanced approach, there is a prescription for how operators such as the Dublin Airport Authority, DAA, and companies can operate their businesses.

A noise database, NoisedB, was developed in 2006 by the French Government under the aegis of the ICAO. The database is a general source of information to the public on the certification noise levels for each type of aircraft as provided by certification authorities. It involved a move to set medium and long-term nitrogen oxides, NOx, reduction goals and, when this had been done, there was a further move to noise reduction technologies. One of the difficulties is that we do not have directly specified levels of noise. We know what the levels are that would enable most people to have a night's sleep or to be able to carry on their business during the day if they live quite close to the flight path, but they are nowhere specified in the balanced approach.

I would go further than Deputy Daly's original amendment in Committee to being very prescriptive. The point about financial sanctions, and other sanctions, is that there is a need to prescribe the levels of sanctions that might be applied. However, I am supportive of the amendment in that it is a basic attempt to give power to the regulator to ensure that, at least, the basic principles I mentioned of the balanced approach, particularly in regard to noise, would be adhered to.

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