Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)

The Minister of State's reply fails to grasp the point. The framework says that the Irish Aviation Authority oversees the implementation of the EU drone regulations, but it does not monitor noise. It said this at the Joint Committee on Transport. There is nobody monitoring what is the biggest single problem of these drones, which is noise. The Minster of State has said that drone delivery operations are closely regulated for aviation safety. There is loads of evidence that these drones are flying in winds beyond what they are meant to fly in. There are a lot of safety concerns around that.

The community has never had its say on this. This technology mainly impacts people who cannot even enjoy their back gardens any longer or cannot even sit outside and read a book because of this constant drone noise. This is a real incursion into people's mental health.

Manna Air Delivery is portrayed as a plucky startup. I put it to the Minister of State that it is not. It is a €60 million venture and Coca-Cola is behind it. People are entitled to have basic privacy, noise reduction and a say in this. They will have a say.

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