We have been the experimental lab in Dublin 15 for this technology. I thank the TDs from outside Dublin West and I will be absolutely frank. It was only when it was spoken about that this technology would be going into other areas that immediately people kicked up about it. We have been suffering this for a year and a half. It was introduced with no opposition. It was welcomed in by the Minister, Deputy Chambers, who is a TD for the area. Some people raised it at local council level, trying to get media attention on it. They put it on the council agenda. Deputy Gannon raised it in here as a Topical Issue one day and I raised it. Then Dundrum happened and 200 people showed up to a meeting there. Fair play to Dundrum; the people said to hang on a second and that they were not having it. The company had to have some level of consultation there. This was a turning point last summer. I will give my position on where we should go with this. The Bill is quite minimal. I support the provisions in it but it is far from dealing with the issue. We have had no debate on the impact of this very intrusive technology, which is completely and utterly wrong. It was allowed to happen by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in particular. There was no consent sought from the communities that had to endure it. A couple of comments have been made about the noise. It has been said that it is like the death of peace and quiet but this is not the case for everyone. I do not hear the noise as much as other residents would but it is not about taking a poll to see what the temperature is and going with that. If it impacts on a minority of people, that is enough and it should not be allowed to do this. There is one company, Manna, that has upped the ante and taken on Deliveroo. What about when other companies, such as Amazon or Google, start to use this? We will have an M50 in the sky. The only other country where this has happened and there has been a community response is Australia. The community in Bonython protested and saw off the drones. To make it clear, because it is a bit jaded to say some TDs do not like technology and we are Luddites, we do not just welcome technology for the sake of technology. It is about how technology impacts on people. A number of people in academia are very opposed to this. There was a public meeting that was attended by other TDs here. Everyone knows how hard it is to get people to a meeting and there were 250 people in the Crowne Plaza hotel, on a cold enough night, who were very concerned about the impact this was having. We all agree that drones can be used amazingly for medical issues, topography, geography and emergency situations such as delivering defibrillators. This is what they should primarily be used for. I am in favour of regulation where we outline the uses of drones. I do not think they should be used for commercial or fast-food delivery in highly built-up residential areas. I do not see that as being essential, not compared to the scale of the impact it is having on people. It is not about just opposing technology. The effect of persistent noise on people is very damaging to their health. We know this from all the studies. Dr. Ciara Bracken-Roche from Maynooth University spoke at the meeting. I also had a very good meeting with Professor Julia Powles, who is a professor of law and technology in Australia. She has written a lot about this and the impact that Google drones had there. There is a lot of questioning of this technology. Primarily, it is communities getting organised for themselves that has made the difference. I do not have time to go into it but Manna has been operating disgracefully in Dublin West. It has three bases and two of them did not have any planning permission. The rules do not seem to apply. In fact, it is quoted in the newspapers as saying the planning regulations had not caught up with it. The rules do not apply to it. Due to community opposition, this has been pushed back on two of the sites and the other will come up for renewal shortly. I imagine there will be opposition to it. The reason is that we all agree it is great having technology, but not when it means constant noise. There is a privacy issue also and this has been proved. A French company came over and did excellent work whereby it got one and showed how it worked. A photograph is taken of the site where the package will be dropped - the package is a burger or, mainly, a coffee - but the drone is taking pictures of other back gardens as well. This was shown in the work. Someone out in their back garden should not have a company with a drone taking a photograph of them.

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Does the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach mean companies like Manna Drones? That is the company that is operating this system.

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In fairness, the company has testified at Oireachtas committees. It is perfectly out there. A representative of that company is quoted in today's paper so it is a bit silly to say we cannot talk about the company. In any case, it is important to show people how the company has operated without permission. I am assuming the Minister of State does not think it is okay to just breach planning permission and that people should go through the planning process. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, said there were gaps. There are not gaps; it is just a Wild West situation where these people can do what they want to do. We all agree with drone technology for certain uses, but the impact it is having is clear in the example from a resident who wrote to me. Beyond the serious privacy and safety concerns, persistent drone noise is disruptive and it undermines the quiet, residential character of their neighbourhood. It adds yet another layer of stress to daily life and reflects a broader problem - the growing incursion of tech companies into our communities and lives without any democratic oversight or meaningful accountability. It is about profit. Drone delivery of fast food and consumer goods is not a public necessity. That sums it up. Feedback was sought by a resident in Castleknock through a Whatsapp group. The replies were as follows: I worry about the environmental impact ... The frequency of flights has noticeably increased ... There was a close encounter with a bird last week ... The presence of drones makes outdoor meals and dining uncomfortable ... Why weren't we properly consulted? ... The noise echoes in our cul-de-sac ... My autistic child finds the noise overwhelming ... My elderly parents find it overwhelming ... The drones passed directly over a family picnic ... This is not what I signed up for. There are so many messages about the feeling of being under surveillance and of having absolutely no say. Drone Action in Dublin 15 is a group of residents who got together and produced a newsletter. As TDs, we are always giving out newsletters and the feedback we get is generally very minimal. Drone Action sent out 5,000 newsletters and got back 300 responses. They asked for people who are interested in a no-fly zone over their house because representatives of the company operating this currently told the transport committee it would respect that. So 300 replied to this, which that is a huge rate of feedback. These are not just moaning Minnies, as this company tries to portray them as. It is very disparaging towards local residents and it is saying this is politically orchestrated, when the person running it is also very political themselves and regularly shares posts about Trump, military stuff and so on. The key point is that the communities themselves must be the final arbiters of this. Community assent has to be sought for this technology. We need a law whereby commercial drone delivery is not allowed in very built-up residential areas or for commercial fast food. There are occasions where food might need to be delivered, which is no problem in outlying or isolated areas, but it is too disruptive. Given there are one or two companies doing it now, what it will be like when there are more companies doing it? There are also employment issues. They are putting people like delivery drivers and riders out of jobs. The economic impact is always talked about from the drone base. They have to be gotten to the drone base. The products are often driven to the drone base. It is not environmentally clean either.

Sentiment score: 0.04

They appeared in committee as well.

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That is what most of it is.

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Just so the Minister of State knows, most of it is coffee.

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It is because of the quickness.

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