Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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4. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the steps he will take to further securitise airspace in the context of the safety of persons in aircraft and on the ground regarding drone activity and interference; and if he has engaged with the Minister of State in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in respect of designing more robust regulations in respect of drone use in local authority jurisdictions. [10762/23]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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This question relates to the illegal use of drones in areas where it is prohibited, for example, around airports and prisons. The State aviation safety plan 2017-20 identified the proliferation of drone use as "an emerging risk". I am seeking an update on what the action of the Government will be in relation to the recent difficulties with people acting illegally in these locations.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The safety of aircraft and people on the ground is my primary concern relating to illegal drone use. There are EU and national rules in place around the use of drones, including an exclusion zone of 5 km around airports. The misuse of drones is an offence. In response to illegal use of drones, summary proceedings and proceedings on indictment can be brought under both civil aviation legislation and the criminal code. Significant penalties of up to life imprisonment are available and enforcement activity can be taken by the Irish Aviation Authority, IAA, or An Garda Síochána. Cases relating to illegal drone use at Dublin Airport are currently before the courts.

In addition to the exclusion around airports, drone geographical zones, or "geo-zones", can be established by the IAA for the purpose of ensuring safety, security, privacy or environmental protection. Drone geo-zones are portions of airspace where drone operations are facilitated, restricted or excluded. Geo-zones are established around international airports and include critical areas. However, they are not exclusive to airports and can be established anywhere there is a demonstrated need. To keep aircraft and people on the ground safe, geo-zones have been established in Ireland and include zones around critical infrastructure, as well as areas around aerodromes. Local authorities may request the establishment of these zones for safety, security, privacy, or environmental purposes. Geo-zones are published and made available worldwide. In addition, the IAA will be publishing geo-zone data in a common digital format later this year. This will allow drone manufactures to easily incorporate an accurate representation of a geo-zone onto their devices, which will either stop the drone from flying into the zone or alert the operator that the drone is about to enter a restricted zone.

My Department is developing a policy framework for unmanned aircraft systems that will address planning and the use of airspace issues and measures on enforcement and compliance. The foundation of the policy framework is cross-Government engagement. Local authorities, through the County and City Management Association, were represented on one of the working groups and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has a representative on the steering group set up to progress the policy framework.

On the recent incidents of illegal drone activity at Dublin Airport, my Department is engaging with relevant colleagues across Government and State agencies to explore means by which we can effectively counter and deter any such further activity.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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The timeline will be very important in terms of when measures can be implemented. A drone has to be registered with the IAA if it weighs more than 150 g or has a camera, and very few of them do not have a camera. This is an obligation on people. The first and most important thing is safety, but disruption is also a significant issue and there are demands for immediate measures in terms of best practice in other jurisdictions. What is the thinking on that? It is absolutely right that a policy approach is taken but there is an immediacy in regard to safety and disruption. Who bears the cost for those disruptions? Is it on the carrier, the airline or the airport, or does the State have a liability? It would be useful to hear a response to these matters.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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We are constantly engaging with the relevant authorities - the IAA and the Dublin Airport Authority, DAA. A meeting was held as recently as last Saturday to try to make progress with the purchase of counter-drone technology for Dublin Airport, and there will be further engagements this week between the IAA, the DAA and the Garda. As part of this, we are looking at comparative examples within Europe. Obviously, counter-drone technology is at an early phase of development but we still have an obligation to respond and act to protect those who are flying in passenger aircraft and to protect the whole airfield. That is why there is constant engagement on this and we are trying to provide a strong response to it.

The Deputy also asked about liability. My understanding is that if a flight is delayed, that is on the carrier. I can revert to the Deputy directly on that point but that is my understanding.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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This was identified as an issue in the safety plan, going back to the period from 2017 to 2020, which was before the Minister of State's party came into government. What was done at that point to plan for this or to mitigate it? This appears that this has become critical because people have decided to defy the law. There may well have been some misunderstanding of the law but it could not be any clearer now. People are being brought in front of the courts. This was known to be a risk. What was done to plan for and mitigate that risk as part of that 2017 to 2020 safety plan?

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy knows, SI 24 of 2023 is an unmanned aircraft systems order from the IAA. We have strong criminal sanctions in place and there is also a standard operating procedure to ensure that appropriate actions are taken when a drone is observed in the vicinity of the critical area. That includes how sightings and detections are reported and verified, notifications to air traffic control and the Garda, the suspension of operations and the validation or notification that the area has been cleared to enable the restart of operations. The Deputy will know that all airports have risk assessment systems that monitor this issue. From a departmental perspective, we are at an advanced stage of work on developing an overall policy framework for unmanned aircraft systems. We want to ensure we are in a position to potentially purchase counter-drone technology to try to mitigate the issues that I know have affected many passengers in recent weeks.