Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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164. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the contingency plans that are in place to prevent similar incidents in Ireland, in light of recent drone-related hybrid attacks on airports in Denmark; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53977/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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165. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his Department has conducted any risk assessments or simulations to test Ireland’s airport resilience against coordinated drone incursions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53978/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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166. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if a designated state agency will be tasked with overseeing counter-drone operations nationally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53979/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 164, 165 and 166 together.

All airports in the State with commercial traffic are required to have procedures in place to deal with the safety risk posed by illegal drone activity. The procedures are developed in accordance with guidance on managing drone safety risk issued by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. Safety critical areas are defined, inter-agency response procedures are put in place and a risk assessment must be maintained at each of our airports as part of their certification by the Irish Aviation Authority.

Following incidents of careless and reckless drone use that caused disruption at Dublin airport in early 2023, daa put in place a range of additional measures to counter illegal drone activity. This includes a re-examination and updating of its standard operating procedures when drones are detected, an upgrade to its drone detection systems, a review of the safety critical area at the airport and the deployment of counter drone technology. The counter drone technology was deployed following a Government Decision on the matter and when the necessary approvals and licences were secured from the Irish Aviation Authority and ComReg. All relevant bodies at Dublin Airport now cooperate effectively to tackle illegal drone use and the disruption to operations encountered in early 2023 has not been repeated.

These measures, and broader arrangements by airport authorities, air navigation service providers and carriers to ensure the safety of the travelling public, would operate in the context of a broader state-led response in the event of more co-ordinated hybrid action.

Threats and risks to the security of civil aviation are formally assessed on a regular basis by this Department together with relevant state security and defence bodies. The risk posed by drones is included in this assessment and all relevant national and international information is taken into account.

Agencies operating under the remit of my department routinely conduct emergency and business continuity exercises. These exercises serve as a vital tool in emergency management — testing response plans, building confidence among those who may be called upon during a crisis, and assessing the effectiveness of contingency plans. They also foster collaboration among stakeholders likely to be involved in incident response, enabling thorough evaluation of response strategies in realistic yet controlled environments.

Counter drone measures can be undertaken in various different locations, circumstances and operational contexts, and therefore to date no single state agency has been tasked with overseeing counter drone operations nationally.