Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

The programme for Government commits to a policy framework for drones to guide high-level strategic planning and development, supporting innovation and addressing other concerns. While that is necessary, it omits a fundamental issue: the impact of commercial drone operations on local communities. Some say there are no regulations at all, which is not true, but it is air and ground risk-based, with model specifications for safety, privacy and noise. We are severely lacking in common-sense rules and regulation for when a commercial entity, including fast food operators, is making 300 deliveries a day over a 3 km radius, relentlessly over a local community, and there will be more. On 21 May I asked the Oireachtas transport committee to meet with stakeholders before the summer recess. That will happen. I am asking that the framework is also published before the summer recess to look at drone traffic management with limits on flight paths and noise, known in the EU already as U-space, and to launch a public awareness campaign about people's rights in this area.

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