Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I wish the Minister of State a good afternoon. I am not sure how familiar he is with drones, but in Dublin 15 in my constituency they are something we are very familiar with at the moment. For over a year now, a commercial company called Manna Drone Delivery has been using airborne drones to deliver takeaway food to homes around Blanchardstown and Castleknock. The drone flies over and the food comes down in a brown paper bag on a string. It is literally manna from heaven. Any time people are in Dublin 15, they hear the buzz and see the drone going over and know that a punter in Clonsilla is getting his or her burrito. This is a brand new area and as with any new technology, there are benefits. However, as this delivery approach is about to spread to new areas across Dublin in the next number of weeks, there is an urgent need for airborne delivery drones to be regulated because right now, the rules about their use are really lax.

Residents across Dublin West have raised a number of issues with me. The first significant issue is noise. Drones make a very distinct sound as they travel through the air and as they rise and descend. While this noise could be tolerated maybe on a once-off basis, there are now flight paths over certain estates in Dublin 15 where in an afternoon there could be 30 or 40 drones flying over and back. I am not exaggerating; I have been there and seen that over an afternoon. That is the scale of what we are talking about. That can have a real impact on someone's enjoyment, particularly of their garden.

Safety is another issue. Right now, there is just one drone company using these airborne drones. What happens if a second or third comes in? If they are not regulated or not co-ordinated, a crash is a real possibility. These are hefty machines. If one or two came out of the sky, there could be real dangers.

Privacy is another matter. Each of these drones has a camera on it to oversee the drop of the paper bag. It is not meant to be switched on for the journey, but just when the bag is being dropped. This is a camera operated by a live pilot back at the base. Who knows if it is on or off? We do not know. These things are flying over our homes all the time with a camera, and we have no idea if that camera is on or off, so there is a real privacy concern there.

There is a planning concern as well. There are at least two drone bases where they come to and from in my constituency right now. There is no clarity in terms of whether planning permission is needed under the planning Acts.

In the Green Party's general election manifesto, we said that this is a new technology and there are real benefits, but that we need to regulate it. We called for that in our general election manifesto because right now it is wild west territory in terms of how these are used. When I put a parliamentary question to the Minister of State's colleague, the Minister of Transport, recently, he said that the Government is working on "a policy framework to guide high-level strategic planning and development of the drone sector in Ireland" and that the "framework will be published in the coming months." Can the Minister of State give me, my constituents and, indeed, people all over Dublin a clear timeline within which this policy framework is going to be published? Can he commit that it will deal with four specific issues: noise pollution, particularly for those estates that are under the flight paths of these drones; the planning status of the drone bases where these drones fly to and from; safety and the risk of drone collisions, particularly if other companies start to use similar delivery approaches; and privacy concerns around who gets to see the data from those cameras? Will the policy framework that he and probably his Department is bringing forward deal with those four crucial matters?

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this question. It is interesting from a rural TD perspective to find out what is actually happening in the Deputy's constituency with drones and the delivery of fast food. As he said, it is new.

From an aviation safety perspective, the regulation of both the recreational and commercial use of drones, or unmanned aircraft systems are they are technically called, is provided for under European Union regulations that are directly applicable in Ireland. Two drone-specific EU regulations ensure drone operations across Europe are safe and secure. The two regulations, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945 and the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947, set out common rules for the regulation of drones and drone operators, including training, licensing and registration. Regulation 2019/947 sets operational rules that apply to both professional drone operators and those flying drones for leisure. Regulation 2019/945 sets the common EU-wide technical requirements for drones, the features and capabilities drones must have to be flown safely and, at the same time, help foster investment and innovation in this sector through a harmonised framework across the European Union. The aim of the EU drone regulations is to achieve the same level of safety for drone operations as in manned aviation. The Irish Aviation Authority, the civil aviation regulator, oversees the implementation of the EU drone regulations and standards. The drone regulations are operation-centric and focus on the risk of drone operations, so regulation is lighter on low-risk operations and more demanding on higher risk operations.

Under the EU regulatory regime, drone operations are classified into three broad categories: open, specific and certified, with different regulatory considerations applied across each category. As one would imagine, commercial drone delivery operations are heavily regulated. Drone delivery operations like those in Dublin 15 fall into the medium-risk "specific" category, which requires specific authorisation by the IAA. This type of authorisation is recognised in all EU member states. To obtain an operational authorisation, an operator must provide a comprehensive safety portfolio, which includes assessing and addressing both ground and air risks with appropriate mitigations. These might include, for example, co-ordination with air traffic control, fitting the drone with a parachute and flight termination system, and dynamically routing away from more densely populated locations.

At a national level, SI 24 of 2023 Irish Aviation Authority (Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Drones)) Order 2023, came into force on 2 February 2023, replacing an earlier drones order. It restates the investigative and enforcement powers of the IAA and provides for arrangements between An Garda Síochána and the IAA in the enforcement of EU drone regulations. It also includes a section on privacy rights which draws the attention to drone operators to prepare a data protection impact assessment, where required, in accordance with the EU general data protection regulation. In addition to complying with EU drone regulations, drone operators must also comply with national laws, including environmental, planning and, as I mentioned, privacy laws. On top of the two EU drone regulations I outlined earlier, there is also a European regulatory framework, comprising Regulations (EU) 2021/664, 2021/665 and 2021/666, that allows for the safe development of the drone services market, including drone delivery, and the integration of drones into our airspace.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I thank the Minister of State. He is right that this is new. It is a service that could have real potential. I am thinking of a medicine delivery to a constituent in the Minister of State's constituency from a pharmacy that might be a significant distance away. There is real potential here. I am a bit concerned, however, about the Minister of State's response. One of the lines in it is that commercial drone delivery operations are heavily regulated. They are not, or the regulations are not touching the concerns people have, which I have outlined. Planning is not properly regulated. There is no clarity as to whether a drone base needs planning permission. It is a live issue in my local authority at the moment. This idea of a data impact survey in terms of the assessment, again, is a very technical piece but does not deal with the question whether we know if that drone camera is on or off as these regular flights are taking place.

In terms of the statement that drones are dynamically routing away from more densely populated locations, these drone bases are in the centre of Dublin 15, an incredibly densely populated part of our city. They only work in this area. There is no diverting away from the densely populated area. They work there. This company, Manna, is about to start undertaking deliveries in two or three other parts of Dublin city as well. I am not doing this as a criticism of the company; I am just raising these issues. The Minister of State is going to have TDs from other areas raising these issues with the Department. I am concerned that the response at this stage is very high level. It is about the EU regulation but that is not dealing with the real issues for people who experience these drones operating over their homes when they are not ordering the burrito. It is not dealing with their particular issues. I advise the Minister of State, as his Department brings forward this policy framework, that it cannot be high level. It will have to deal with issues like privacy, safety, noise pollution and the planning status of drone bases. I thank the Minister of State for his time.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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The Deputy mentioned a question about planning and whether it is required. It is a matter for the planning authority. If somebody has a commercial enterprise in a location, they have to have planning permission for it. That is coming from the experience of working on the council for a number of years. Aviation is a highly regulated industry and there is a comprehensive legislative framework in place at both EU and national level to regulate safe drone operations.

The rapid pace of drone innovation and commercialisation has created challenges. I agree with that. The Government is aware that the impact of a growing drone sector with an increasing volume of drone operations needs to be further considered. The programme for Government includes a commitment to finalising and implementing a policy framework to guide high-level strategic planning and development of the drone sector in Ireland through supporting growth and innovation while ensuring safe and secure operations and managing environmental and other concerns. The policy framework recognises the importance of collaboration and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. The foundation of the policy framework is cross-government engagement and it is informed by public and industry consultation. A public consultation was held in 2024. The consultation sought feedback from the public on several key areas, including how to respond to public concerns about the increased use of drones, as the Deputy has mentioned, how to position Ireland as a potential front-runner in the emerging sector, and how to future-proof responsible development of the drone industry.

The policy framework seeks to strike a balance between realising the benefits of the development and uptake of new technologies and the risks they can cause. It is envisaged this policy document will be published in the coming months. In the meantime, the IAA, as the civil aviation safety regulator, will continue to oversee drone operations throughout the State to ensure the operations are safe and comply with the EU regulations. I accept that this is a growing industry. We need to make sure we get in there early to ensure it is managed properly and that people's privacy is not invaded.