I welcome this incredibly timely Bill from Deputy O'Gorman on the regulation of drones because it is long overdue. I share others' concerns that the Government does not agree that it is timely, given that it is kicking it down the road. I want to address the kind of message I get back when I push for greater regulation across the tech space more broadly. I am thinking of online safety and the online platforms, which need to experience greater regulation, similarly in AI, particularly at EU level. Here we have a specific technology being operated within a regulatory vacuum. We in the Social Democrats support business. We support small business, innovation and enterprise. What we do not support is this vacuum of regulation. We want to see evidence-based decision-making and not a business-focused mindset from the Government when it comes to regulation. We have to make regulation work for business, but we do not take into consideration in a balanced way the concerns of the community. So many issues are brought into focus when we talk about drones. They affect our privacy, noise, environment, the economic picture, labour, health and so much more. We also have to see it well sequenced. We are in a vacuum now because of the lack of action from the Government. That results in a community that is essentially a Petri dish, being tested and trialled without the safety of regulation. I will take one example from the list I have provided: environment. We were kicking this about in the office when we were researching my contribution. The immediate thought might be that, from an environmental point of view, fewer cars on the road doing deliveries can be a benefit of the drone. Then you start to dig into it and find 70% of deliveries are done by bike, which are active transport, do not have carbon emissions and are carbon-neutral; therefore, you are not getting much gain from it. We do not know what the effect is on biodiversity. We just heard examples from Deputy Coppinger's constituents, including a near-collision with a bird. More than that, noise and air pollution come from this and what that will mean for nature and our planet is something we cannot play around with. We certainly cannot leave it as a guinea pig to be tested on. Ba chóir go mbeadh muid in ann guth a bheith againn maidir leis an méid atá ag tarlú díreach os ár gcionn. Tá muid ag iarraidh a bheith níos fearr ó thaobh pleanála de inár bpobail agus tá fadhb ollmhór nuair nach féidir é sin a dhéanamh mar gheall ar easpa reachtaíochta. The lack of regulation has left communities powerless to oppose the use of commercial drone delivery. In my constituency, local residents have contacted me in huge numbers. Other contributors have spoken of balance and said people are expressing different views but in my office the response to drones is overwhelmingly negative. Local residents are absolutely opposed to the development of a commercial drone delivery depot in Dundrum. What has deeply frustrated them in their efforts is that there is a vacuum of regulation and no avenues for them to raise their valid concerns and objections to drones flying over their homes and communities. Everyone should be able to raise issues they experience with noise and privacy concerns in a clear and effective way, and there needs to be a mechanism which allows those issues to be heard and taken seriously by the appropriate authorities. It is clear from the experiences of people who live in other parts of Dublin - specifically Dublin 15, where these drones have already been in operation for a number of years - that they do not have a voice within this regulatory process. The national policy framework for unmanned aircraft systems posits the implementation of drones as something economically beneficial but fails to recognise the slippery slope that this technology represents and the issues that are already affecting communities and which will continue to do so unless we see real regulation. I agree with Deputies who have said this will simply grow. As Deputy Donnelly said, for as long as regulation does not exist, this Chamber will get more and more full every month as Members discuss this issue. I want to include in my contribution some of the messages I received from my constituents. These are the people and community groups who will deal directly with the impact of unregulated drone delivery every day of their lives. They are left powerless by the current gaps in legislation, which this Bill seeks to address. A message from the Roebuck Residents' Association states: We wish to make the point that the Irish Aviation Authority, the IAA, does not sufficiently take the impact of this type of activity on residential amenity into account when awarding such licences and certificates. This certification was set up to accommodate more time-limited commercial drone activity such as drone use for mapping and surveying. There are many more parameters that need to be taken into account when considering drone activity for frequent deliveries over dense residential areas. The parameters that need to be taken into account include: - noise nuisance - safety issues - privacy concerns We are firmly of the belief that part of the oversight of such activity should fall under the remit of the local authority. The IAA is wholly unsuited to determine the effect of such activity on the residential amenity of affected homes in a particular location. We are aware that there is no reference to drones in the DLR County Development Plan, the Dundrum LAP, or indeed in any of the National or Regional Planning Frameworks and Strategies. Then I have correspondence from three individual local residents. The first states: While the technology may seem innovative, it raises serious concerns for our community. Drones could negatively impact noise levels, privacy, and safety, particularly in residential areas. They also risk disrupting wildlife and the character of our village. I believe there are better ways to support local businesses and improve services without compromising the quality of life in Dundrum. The second states: Drone activity threatens the peaceful environment needed by local families, children, and those seeking quiet. The final one states: Repeated, noisy drones operating in residential areas to deliver a cup of coffee is absolutely NOT a good idea. Trivial uses of drones by a few creates an unacceptable environment for the many. I am not sure why the Minister of State finds that funny.

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I appreciate the confirmation. As we have heard, that is genuinely what people are using them for. That is my point.

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Yes, I agree with Deputy Coppinger. If this can save lives by delivering medical equipment-----

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Can I continue, please? If this can save lives, make a meaningful contribution to the public interest or help in the delivery of health services or essential public services, I am all for it. I am all for creating a regulatory framework that will facilitate that but what we do not have is exactly that. A regulatory framework is absent; therefore, trivial and mass-scale commercial drone usage is what we will experience. This Bill is a positive step - again, I commend Deputy O'Gorman on bringing it forward at this time - towards protecting our communities and plugging the gaps in regulation which have been left unaddressed for far too long. I welcome this Bill and the debate today.

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Genuinely.

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