Game of drones in Dublin 15 as Deliveroo drones take to the skies

Drones have become a common sight over the skies of Dublin 15 in recent times, with the whirring sound now a near-omnipresent sound for west Dublin residents. 

The persistent buzzing is now likely to become a more permanent feature of the soundscape, with the announcement that fast food company Deliveroo has signed a deal with Manna to deliver fast food via drone.

Blanchardstown-based firm Manna has been using Dublin 15 as a testing ground for commercial drone delivery since 2024, with Silicon Republic reporting that 170,000 food deliveries have been carried out since the service launched.

While the firm has come to prominence for its quick delivery of fast food, Bloomberg has reported that the company is looking to branch out into other areas such as grocery and more general retail services.

The success has come at a price however, local residents have been complaining about the noise, and local elected representatives have said that the technology needs more regulation.

In an Irish Times article published this week, local residents have described the sound of drones as being louder than cars and in some cases, as loud as a lawnmower.

Local Green TD Roderic O’Gorman has called for an Oireachtas hearing on drone technology.

“Dublin 15 and other parts of the city are seeing a rapidly increasing number of drone delivery flights, and this will only increase with the new deal between Manna and Deliveroo. Absolutely, there are benefits to the commercial use of drones, but there has been no discussion of the balance of rights between the companies using them, and residents who are impacted by the disturbance they create, particularly noise”, O’Gorman said.

O’Gorman said he has written to the Chairperson of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, requesting that the Committee hold an urgent session on the use of commercial drones for delivery.

He said that the Irish Aviation Authority, Manna, Deliveroo and officials from the Department of Transport all need to provide their input to the hearing.

While food delivery via drone sounds like something out of science fiction, the science fact of cheeseburgers being delivered by drones comes with drawbacks.

“When I raised the issue of drone use in the Dail in February, the Minister said that this Policy was near completion; itneeds to be finished and published urgently, and should cover key issues like noise pollution, safety concerns, planning issues and privacy rules, regarding the use of commercial drones,” he said.

Speaking in the Dáil in February, O’Gorman said, “each of these drones has a camera on it to oversee the drop of the paper bag. It is not meant to be switched on for the journey, but just when the bag is being dropped. This is a camera operated by a live pilot back at the base. Who knows if it is on or off? We do not know.”

“These things are flying over our homes all the time with a camera, and we have no idea if that camera is on or off, so there is a real privacy concern there.”

Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien, per O’Gorman, has put the National Policy Framework for Drone Use on the long finger and said that in light of a major company like Deliveroo entering the commercial drone delivery market, this framework needs to be published.

In early 2024, the Department of Transport launched a public consultation scheme which allowed citizens to have their say about the usage of drones within a commercial setting; there is no indication if and when the Department will publish the findings and move it to the Dáil legislative process.

Local Green councillor Feljin Jose, party spokesperson on transport, said, “this rapid expansion of drone food deliveries coupled with the current planning regulation vacuum is a recipe for disaster.”

“There are plans to expand them to Glasnevin and the wider area in the coming months, which prompted a discussion at Dublin City Council’s Mobility and Public Realm Strategic Policy Committee last month. I’ve asked the chair of the committee to write to the Minister asking him to urgently publish regulations around this.”

“We need to hit pause on this until that’s in place,” the Cabra-Glasnevin councillor said.

Fellow opposition TD Ruth Coppinger has been vocal about wanting to regulate the usage of commercial drones.

In a Fingal County Council meeting last September, prior to her Dáil re-election in November, the Solidarity TD said, “people have made the point that airport noise has increased, now you’ve got this on top of the other noise introduction. Are the skies going to become as busy as the roads?”

“I think people are just shocked by how noisy and intrusive drones are in the area; a lot of people are worried about drones in general.”

Labour councillor Mary McCamley expressed concern about the number of licenses the IAA are granting drone operators.

“If the IAA can grant a licence to Manna, they can do the same to another company today and another company the day after that. How many companies could the IAA be allowed to fly over our homes?”

In a statement to RTE, Manna said Manna said that they are using a “number of measures to reduce noise levels” and that it would welcome further regulation of commercial drone usage.

The company stated that it takes from the community “very seriously” and they have engaged with residents and groups on the ground.

Manna said that they have adjusted the flying heights of their drones and have invested in quieter propellers in a bid to reduce noise complaints.

As far as privacy concerns go, they stated that drones are only equipped with cameras for safety reasons, and they are not being used for any other purpose.

At present, the drone delivery system only covers a 3km area around Blanchardstown, but considering the success of the scheme in its trial period and partnership with a major fast food service, the sight and sound of drones in the Dublin 15 skies are now likely to become a permanent fixture.

A recent internet meme asks the question of who would win in a fight between 100 people and one gorilla, in Dublin 15, the question is now who will win, annoyed Dublin 15 residents or a drone carrying a coffee?