Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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57. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the measures he will take to address the interference of drone activity on civil aviation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10511/23]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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64. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide details of the measures his Department proposes to adopt to ensure operations at Irish airports are not impeded by the illegal flying of drones; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10270/23]

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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74. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the contingency plans in place for drone attacks and illegal use of drones at Irish airports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10355/23]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 57, 64 and 74 together.

Minister Ryan and I take the matter of illegal drone use at airports extremely seriously.  In addition to the considerable disruption caused to passengers, this activity poses a genuine safety risk to aviation.

Irish airports have procedures in place to handle the risk posed by illegal drone activity, developed in accordance with guidance on managing drone safety risk issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).  In the case of Dublin Airport, a safety critical area has been defined and a risk assessment is maintained. A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is in place to ensure that appropriate actions are taken when a drone is observed in the vicinity of the critical area.  This includes procedures for confirming detections and sightings, informing air traffic control and An Garda Síochána, suspending operations, sweeping the airfield and safe restart of operations.

The current procedures in place at Dublin Airport, while disruptive to flights, have proved effective in ensuring safety.

Minister Ryan and I are actively engaging with the daa and other relevant state agencies on the recent incidents of illegal drone activity at Dublin airport and on potential measures to deter any future activity of this nature.  We received briefings from relevant bodies after both the St Brigid’s weekend incidents and the most recent incident on 21 February and will continue to support the relevant authorities in investigating these incidents and in vigorously pursuing prosecutions.

Through cross government engagement we will strengthen our ability to deal with such incidents, including working at pace on the potential deployment of enhanced technological solutions.

Many of the counter drone measures available are used primarily in the military realm and aren’t readily available or compatible with civil aviation operations. However, commercially available counter drone systems are being examined. While there is a range of systems available at present, there is no 100% effective technological solution when it comes to counter drone measures.  There are risks associated with destroying a drone and also issues with the use of radio and signal jamming equipment at an airport.  Such risks have to be considered in deploying counter drone technology.

Dublin airport has a drone detection system in place that gives early warning of illegal drone activity.  Information gathered by this system is being used to pursue enforcement activity, including prosecution. Cases relating to illegal drone use at Dublin Airport are currently before the courts.