Plan for Dublin Airport “built on sand”, say residents

Residents who live close to Dublin Airport have challenged a report which has championed a major investment programme the airport.

St Margarets The Ward Residents Group (SMTW) said the report published in recent days lacked credibility because it completely ignored the reality of airport planning breaches, regulatory constraints, noise pollution and health impacts.

The group said that Irelandia Aviation’s report, “A Pathfinder for Irish Aviation”, which outlines a growth-driven vision for the sector, ignored the many serious concerns raised over the Dublin Airport Authority’s (daa) proposed €1.9 billion capital investment programme.

SMTW spokesperson  Liam O’Gradaigh said: “This report lacks reality. The report may point to the perceived economic opportunities of airport expansion, the reality at Dublin Airport is stark: unresolved planning breaches, rising regulatory constraints, spiralling health costs from noise pollution, and a clear misalignment with Ireland’s national climate objectives.

“The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) is in breach of its planning conditions, mainly through the continued use of unauthorised flight paths since the North Runway opened in 2022.

“These routes were never assessed for environmental or noise impact and are now subject to enforcement by Fingal County Council.

“Coupled with this is the fact that the DAA has exceeded its annual passenger cap without valid approval, while the planning application to raise the cap to 40 million passengers per annum remains mired in delays and demands for additional information.

“The Airport has failed to meet the Noise Abatement Objective (NAO) set by the Aircraft Noise Competent Authority (ANCA), with night-time noise exposure steadily rising since 2022.

“Dublin Airport has increased the number of night flights steadily despite overwhelming evidence linking such exposure to cardiovascular disease, sleep disturbance, and impaired child development.

Mr O’ Gradaigh said the local residents were paying a high price in terms of their health.

“The estimated public health cost from aviation noise pollution caused by Dublin Airport is now close to €800 million annually—a cost borne by the State and healthcare system rather than by the polluter.

“Without drastic reductions in night-time operations, these costs will continue to rise.

“The proposed expansion at Dublin Airport is also fundamentally at odds with Ireland’s climate targets. Increased passenger numbers mean more flights, and more flights mean more emissions—particularly from long-haul routes operating at night, when runway capacity is most stretched.

Despite attempts to rely on offsetting schemes such as the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), these mechanisms do not align with the pace or scale of Ireland’s legally binding carbon budgets under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Acts.

Mr O’ Gradaigh said that given these realities, the investment risks are significant:

Unresolved legal compliance on key infrastructure and operations;

Revenue losses from upcoming night flight restrictions;

Legal enforcement action from the local planning authority;

Escalating public health and environmental liabilities;

A clear contradiction between expansion plans and climate law.

He concluded: “Irelandia’s “Pathfinder for Irish Aviation” paints an optimistic picture of future connectivity and growth. But without addressing the environmental, legal, and human costs at Dublin Airport, any such vision is built on sand.

“Until daa can show it operates within the law, meets its environmental responsibilities, and aligns with national climate commitments, its capital plan cannot be considered viable.

“Investors, policymakers, and the public would be well advised to proceed with caution.”

In response to this article, Graeme McQueen, spokesperson for Dublin Airport told Northside People:

“Mr O’Gradaigh would appear to be letting emotion get in the way of fact and daa rejects all and any accusations that it is in breach of planning conditions.

“As Mr O’Gradaigh well knows, the planning permission granted for North Runway did not determine flight paths and the flights currently being flown are consistent with those that were put to the public in advance of North Runway opening.

“Safety is Dublin Airport’s highest priority. The paths which aircraft fly when taking off from North Runway were developed and designed by experts to align with the international safety regulations set out by the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO). The role of the Irish Aviation Authority is to review the flight paths proposed and ensure they align with safety requirements.”

Health and noise mitigations

“daa is very aware that airport operations have an impact on local communities and works hard to minimise this.

“We’ve invested more than €20 million to date on noise mitigation measures, including buying out or insulating the homes of people most impacted and we will continue to do more.

“In April we launched our latest online tool to empower the local community with detailed information on flights and noise at Dublin Airport, which is available on the Dublin Airport website.

“We continue to incentivise airlines to bring the newest, quietest technology aircraft to Dublin so that noise levels are reduced.

“And since the opening of North Runway significantly fewer people are impacted by noise as we no longer fly over heavily populated, urban areas of Dublin city.

“daa is aware of the report published last month and is evaluating the methodology used.

“The basis of the SMTW report is a study done specifically on Brussels Airport, which assumes the same conditions exist at both airports and in both countries which is unlikely to be the case.

“It is also worth noting the Brussels report authors ‘urge caution when interpreting the results of this work’, and stated they offered ‘no comment on the validity of otherwise of the numbers calculated or the conclusions that may be deducted’.

“We will take time to ensure the report isn’t comparing apples with oranges and how it might apply in a Dublin context.

“What we do know is that Dublin Airport contributes a total of €9.6 billion in gross value added (GVA) every year to the Irish economy and supports or facilitates 116,100 jobs in the Republic of Ireland.

“These stats come from an independent economic impact study by international economic consultants InterVistas, which found that Dublin Airport is a key conduit to the equivalent of 2.3% of the national economy.”