OPPOSITION TDS HAVE called for urgent regulations to be introduced amid a “tipping point” in drone use for commercial deliveries.

It comes a week after online food delivery platform Deliveroo announced it will be initiating air deliveries using drones provided by drone operator Manna, which has been delivering food items weighing 4kg or less for over a year in Dublin 15.

The new service will begin with a trial phase and will be available to people within a 3km radius of Blanchardstown, Dublin 15.

Speaking in the Dáil this morning, Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon said that we are at “a tipping point in the rollout of commercial drone delivery in Ireland”, where regulations have not kept up with the pace of innovation. 

He said that residents in Drumcondra and Glasnevin have raised “serious concerns” around noise, planning, environmental impact and safety. 

“Drumcondra was recently named Ireland’s first autism-friendly village, a designation that carries a responsibility to protect the sensory and the environmental stability the community relies upon. Unregulated drone activity threatens that stability.”

Gannon said the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) recently met with residents and confirmed their remit is limited to licensing and mechanical safety.

He said they also acknowledged major regulatory gaps and said a temporary drone restricted zone is possible with a direction from the Environment Minister Darragh O’Brien. 

“Interim protections are needed while national and EU regulations catches up at the pace of the commercial roll out,” he said.

He said that the current regulations set out how drones may be flown safely, “but what the regulations don’t capture in the slightest is how drones may be experienced safely”.

‘Dystopian future’ 

He called for the Minister to direct the IAA to establish a temporary drone restriction zone over Glasnevin and Drumcondra. “It should be something that we can just clearly agree is necessary.”

Gannon warned of a “dystopian future, when you consider the fact that we have one operator at the moment, and we already have a humdrum of annoyance”.

“What happens when there’s a second one, a third one? I don’t think anyone else wants to see that.”

Solidarity-People Before Profit TD Ruth Coppinger played a recording of the sound of a drone in the Dáil chamber, saying that residents in her constituency in Blanchardstown “have been suffering this for over a year and a half, and nobody’s listening”. 

Coppinger said that Manna, an Irish start up from entrepreneur Bobby Healy, has been operating since last year and has completed over 170,000 deliveries in the area, with residents raising concerns around noise since then.  

“This has to come to the Dáil. There has to be regulation,” she said. 

Let’s be clear here, they’re not delivering blood or medicine. They’re delivering burgers and lattes for profit.

The Dublin West TD added: “As one resident said, this is one company. What if the skies are opened up to all companies?”

Last week, a spokesperson for Manna said that it has been positively received in Dublin 15 and that out of 170,000 deliveries in the area, it has received 77 complaints to date.

“We take every concern seriously as part of the community and continue to improve our service,” the spokesperson said.

‘Not a public necessity’

Coppinger said residents are losing their right to enjoy their back gardens and their right to privacy while dealing with “unbelievable” noise, adding that “drone delivery of fast food and consumer goods is not a public necessity”.

She said one resident told her that the drones add “yet another layer of stress to daily life” and reflects the broader problem of “the growing incursion of tech companies into our communities without democratic oversight or meaningful accountability”.

Standing in for the Darragh O’Brien, Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development Jerry Buttimer said the issue of drones is going to become more prevalent and acknowledged that people have experienced “ongoing issues” with them.

The Fine Gael TD said the IAA is working with the European Union safety agency and other member states in developing guidelines and regulations around drone noise. 

He said that commercial drone operations and drone delivery operations are “more closely regulated” and may require “specific authorisation”.

Buttimer said the points made by Gannon and Coppinger around persistent noise and privacy issues “are ones that we should listen to very strongly, because they’re ones that are being articulated by many people”. 

“I actually agree with Deputy Coppinger. There must be other ways of being able to get home deliveries done,” he said. 

“We’re all in favour of innovation, as you said, and I hope there will be solution found,” Buttimer said, adding that he would bring the matter back to the Department.