FIANNA FÁIL’S PRESIDENTIAL candidate Jim Gavin has said he did not see a drone that was filming material for his campaign flying without permission during a park run in Dublin at the weekend.

Gavin and Fianna Fáil’s deputy leader Jack Chambers took part in the park run in Porterstown on Saturday. Footage of the run taken by the drone was circulated as part of Gavin’s campaign on social media. 

The Irish Independent reported earlier today that the park is a “red zone” where drones are not allowed to fly without permission. The drone used had not received permission to operate in the area.

Gavin, the chief operations officer at the Irish Aviation Authority, said that if he had seen the drone, he would’ve asked the operator whether permission to fly had been obtained. 

“We’re human. the drone operator at that particular video, I was running around with Minister Chambers, he put me through my paces so we didn’t see the drone, but it was brought to my attention yesterday,” he said.

“So I simply asked the drone operator to file an occurrence report,” he said. 

He added that the situation is “not a blame game” but about learning, but he is sure the drone operator has learned from the mistake.

“As humans, there are mistakes made every day,” he said.

In December 2023, Gavin said as COO of the aviation authority, “a drone is not a toy and can have very serious consequences if it collides with a person, an animal or another aircraft.

“So, if you do get a drone this Christmas, remember it’s your responsibility to know the rules and fly it safely.”