Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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467. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his Department has engaged with community and civil society groups in the past six months with regard to the operation of drone delivery depots already in operation and the opening of a drone delivery depot in the Dundrum area of Dublin Rathdown; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42300/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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Community and civil society groups as well local representatives have been engaging with my department in relation to concerns arising from drone delivery operations in the greater Dublin area.

The rapid pace of drone innovation and commercialisation has created challenges. The impact of a growing drone sector with an increase in the volume of drone operations requires a co-ordinated policy response.

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. Work on drafting the National Policy Framework for Unmanned Aircraft Systems was recently finalised.

The Policy Framework recognises the importance of collaboration and engagement of 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 increase in use of drones, how to position Ireland as a potential front runner in the broader emerging UAS sector, and how to future proof responsible development of the drone industry.

The Policy Framework seeks to strike a balance between realising the benefits from the development and uptake of new technologies and service associated with drones and managing public concerns in relation the increase in use of drones.

I expect to publish the Policy Framework in the coming weeks.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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468. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the work being carried out by his Department regarding the regulation of drone delivery services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42306/25]

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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469. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the actions he is taking to address concerns regarding drone delivery services, including privacy and the use of camera data; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42308/25]

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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470. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the actions he is taking to address concerns regarding drone delivery services related to excessive noise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42309/25]

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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471. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the actions he is taking to address concerns around drone delivery services regarding the potential safety risk (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42310/25]

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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557. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he is aware of concerns regarding the use of commercial drones; the measures he is taking to address this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43247/25]

Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)
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598. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to outline the current legislation, EU or otherwise, that enables the use of commercial drone delivery systems to operate in the wider Dublin area, Dublin north-west; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44098/25]

Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)
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599. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he intends to introduce new legislation for the privacy and personal security for communities that currently operate commercial drone delivery services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44099/25]

Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)
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600. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of reported actions taken by him or his Department against commercial drone delivery services for breaches of operation regarding the speed of drones, operating hours and locations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44100/25]

Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)
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601. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport how his Department measures commercial drone delivery services activity; how they carry inspections for breaches of operation regarding the speed of drones, operating hours and locations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44104/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 468 to 471, inclusive, 557 and 598 to 601, inclusive, together.

In 2018, competence for the regulation of civil unmanned aircraft systems operations passed to the European Union (EU). The EU regulatory framework for civil unmanned aircraft systems (UAS-Drones), established through Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947 on the procedures and rules for the operation of unmanned aircraft and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945 on unmanned aircraft and on third country operators of unmanned aircraft systems, is directly applicable in Ireland. The EU drone regulations are implemented and overseen by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) under its remit as the national civil aviation regulator.

Regulation (EU) 2019/947 sets operational rules that apply to both professional drone operators and those flying drones for leisure.

Regulation (EU) 2019/945 sets the common EU-wide technical requirements for drones, the features and capabilities that drones must have in order 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 EU drone regulations are operation centric and focus on the risk of operations, i.e. the requirements for low-risk operations are less onerous than for higher risk operations. Under the EU regulatory regime, drones are categorised under three broad types – Open, Specific and Certified - with different regulatory considerations applied across each type.

Commercial drone delivery operations are provided for under the EU drone regulations. Such operations are closely regulated and fall into the medium risk “specific” category, which requires specific authorisation by a civil aviation authority, the IAA in Ireland. 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, coordination with Air Traffic Control and the fitting the drone with a parachute and flight termination system.

While overseeing the hours of drone operations is not part of the aviation safety remit of the IAA, the IAA, in line with Article 18 of Regulation (EU) 2019/947, has developed Risk-Based Oversight system which includes audits and inspections of operators, remote pilots, and Unmanned Aircraft Systems. The IAA also examines reported incidents of non-compliance with the EU UAS regulations and takes actions against instances of non-compliance, which can include the revocation of certificates, licenses, and authorisations.

In terms of noise and design requirements, Regulation (EU) 2019/945 includes noise requirements through the CE marking for a limited number of drone operations. The IAA is working with the European Aviation Safety Agency and other member states on developing guidelines and regulation around drone noise.

At a national level, S.I. No. 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 relation to 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 privacy laws.

The rapid pace of drone innovation and commercialisation has created challenges. While there is a comprehensive regulatory framework for drone in place from an aviation safety perspective, there are areas where the rapid pace of expansion of drone operations has resulted in gaps and uncertainty.

The Government is aware that the impact of a growing drone sector with an increase in the volume of drone operations needs further consideration. 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.

Work on the drafting of a National Policy Framework for Unmanned Aircraft Systems has recently been finalised. The Policy Framework recognises the importance of collaboration and engagement of a wide range of stakeholders. It was developed through cross-government engagement structures, and it is informed by public and industry consultation. It will be implemented through similar collaborative cross-government structures and will facilitate the addressing of the matters such as planning and environmental issues by the appropriate authorities.

I expect to publish the Policy Framework in the coming weeks.