This is not the first time I have raised the issue of commercial drone fast-food deliveries in residential areas. Last week, we had the announcement from Manna Air Delivery, which was the company operating in Dublin 15 and Cork, that it is suspending and pulling out of Ireland. Residents who were suffering as a result of the noise and lack of privacy, and who had wildlife concerns, etc., but who particularly suffered as a result of the noise, peace and quiet in their back gardens and neighbours having been lost, are celebrating. This technology was very invasive. It was brought in without any proper consultation. The company seemed to operate without having to go for planning permission. When it was forced to do so by community action and by communities getting organised and challenging the way the company was operating, the council started to take notice. The local authority started to act. I have a list of issues that residents have raised with me and I am directly using the words they have sent me. How is it that commercial drone delivery operations were permitted by this Government to roll out without prior public consultation and without environmental or health impact assessments being done? For two years, Manna Air Delivery was granted a licence by the Irish Aviation Authority, IAA, and was able to bypass public consultation. It provided its own statements without any objective evidence concerning noise and environmental impact. It took a year-long effort by communities, certainly in Dublin 15, including the residents' group Drone Action D15. Public meetings in Dundrum were well attended. It makes no sense. Every piece of technology that comes along does not have to be embraced. It should depend on its social usefulness. One hundred people suffer unbearable propeller noise for one person to get a cup of coffee flown over to them. Who said we needed that? As a journalist said, this was answering a question that was never asked. We now need to look at the fact that the noise of drones in residential areas make them an unacceptable technology. There are loads of good uses for drones, and I am all for their use in topography, photography, emergency medicine and many other areas. Flying burgers, takeaways and coffees in residential areas is not a good use. We need to ensure that commercial drone deliveries are not allowed again in residential areas. The national drone policy that will be drawn up must reflect that. Commercial drone companies must be required, like everybody else, to apply for planning permission for bases they are setting up and for the impact they have. Manna Air Delivery was operating in a regulatory vacuum. There is now a framework whereby the public are considered stakeholders and must be consulted. It seems that was something this particular company did not like. It did not like the fact that the public had to be consulted. It had strong opposition in Cork and Dublin 15. That it was mooted to go into Dundrum and Dublin city brought a huge reaction from residents. We now have a framework and we must ensure that the IAA is not lagging behind and enforces it, not just on behalf of the people it regulates, such as the drone operators, but also on behalf of the general public.

Sentiment score: 0.03

I urge that the framework specifically rules out these drones operating in residential areas. They cause considerable physical and mental health damage to residents who are suffering under them. The Minister of State said in his reply that the drone companies must comply. They are "subject to national laws, including environmental, planning and data protection laws". How come Manna Air Delivery was not so subject for two years? How come it was operating in bases that had no planning permission? Its representatives came in front an Oireachtas committee and told the residents that they could have a no-fly zone over their homes. When residents wrote to the company asking for that, it was never implemented. The company has been operating with impunity. It was funded, by the way, by Enterprise Ireland. I want to comment about jobs. Nobody wants to see any jobs lost as the result of a business closing. Manna Air Delivery has stated that 10% of its 200 employees will be affected, so 20 jobs are potentially at risk. That is the fault of an employer for establishing a company without proper planning. It is extremely antisocial. It had no consultation. There was no assent or buy-in from the community. It is estimated that the company had approximately 1,000 customers. The population of Blanchardstown is 150,000. There was not huge enthusiasm for this technology. It replaced delivery riders on e-bikes. It replaced delivery drivers, too. I would imagine that the balance in jobs will even out. There were also environmental claims. The delivery had to be driven to the drone base from the takeaway. Huge claims were made about the benefits of this technology to society. The game is up now because residents got organised in various communities. I see this as a victory for communities over big tech. Tech is not inevitable and we do not have to accept every single thing that is foisted on us.

Sentiment score: -0.10