Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

The Minister of State's response proves my point. I thank him for it. This is heavy on regulation rather than on the rights of residents and communities. The language used is not at all consumer friendly. Meanwhile, we are seeing the fast development, growth and expansion of these deliveries and services and they are impacting communities. We have to make sure the regulations and public information are keeping pace with that innovation. The national policy framework currently in development needs to be launched. This framework needs to be consumer friendly. U-space services are the critical part of this because it gets down to the nitty-gritty of flight paths over housing estates. The Minister of State indicated that he does not see this as being fully envisaged until 2030. That will be too late. The IAA is collaborating with Maynooth University and Dublin City Council on a drone innovation partnership that will inform the development of an unmanned traffic system in the Dublin city region. Fingal County Council needs to be part of that. Other councils should be part of it too. The U-space approach needs to be prioritised.

This is not about curbing innovation. It is about building the right regulatory foundation so that innovation can grow with public confidence and local support. However, that is not happening. We need to take a consumer-friendly approach to engaging with and consulting the public on issues like this in order to make it relatable, relevant and explainable to residents who have legitimate concerns about noise and intrusiveness.

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