Eamonn Coghlan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Thank you, a Chathaoirligh. I wish to pay tribute to two great Dubs. One is the Irish soccer legend Ray Treacy who sadly passed away over the weekend after a short illness. He was a great legend in Irish soccer and was capped 42 times. He played with Shamrock Rovers and with Home Farm in Dublin. We have also had the sad and sudden passing this afternoon of Dave Billings who won an all-Ireland senior football medal with Dublin in 1974. He made great contributions to GAA with Dublin, with St. Vincent's and with UCD.

I would like to echo my support for the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, bringing a memo to the Cabinet to change legislation and crack down on burglaries. We need tougher measures. For too long, those who have had two or more charges have been able to get released on bail. Times are changed now. They cannot just serve concurrent sentences, these sentences must be consecutive. The Minister is demanding action but more importantly the people are demanding action on this and will have the support of the House.

Over the Easter break I had the pleasure of looking at a drone in action around the Liffey Valley Park. We know drones do surveillance work and we see them in war situations, but now we are seeing them more in pleasure pursuits. While this drone flew across the Liffey Valley, under the M50 bridge, I was able to view it on an i-Pad. The views it captured were quite incredible. I asked the person qualified to fly this drone how far it could travel? I was told it could go in a 2 km radius north, south, east or west. I asked about vertical distance. He replied that it could also go 2 km up into the sky. This could present serious problems for aircraft in the area, either a helicopter or a low-flying plane going in to Weston Aerodrome. If the drone was to become caught in the engines of a plane there would be serious trouble. I understand there are air-traffic control restrictions on heights that things can fly, but while one needs skill to fly a drone there is no reason I would not be refused if I went online or into a shop to buy a drone. We need to give serious consideration to and debate the danger these drones can pose for air traffic. It needs to be brought to the attention of the appropriate Department to establish what restrictions can be put in place when purchasing these drones which are very dangerous if misused.