AN APPLICATION MADE by DAA to raise the annual passenger cap at Dublin Airport from 32 million people to 36 million has been deemed invalid by Fingal County Council.

The application was made by the DAA – the body that operates the airport – to the council in December last year.

Fingal said it was a “matter of great concern” to it that “such a significant planning application is invalid – and it noted that while “pre-planning” assistance is available to applicants this “did not take place for this application.

The planning authority has said it informed the DAA that its application is invalid “because it fails to comply with Article 18(1)(d), Article 19(1)(a), and Article 22 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 (as amended)”. 

“It is also invalid because the proposed description of the development in the public notices is non-compliant with the relevant regulations and is inadequate and misleading,” the council said in a statement this evening. 

‘Baffled’

The DAA has since hit out at the decision, describing Fingal County Council’s decision as “bizarre”. 

DAA said it was “baffled and bewildered by this bizarre flip-flop by Fingal County Council” in a statement released late on Tuesday.  

The airport operator said that council planners “twice confirmed the validity of DAA’s ‘no build’ application on 23 December and again on 6 January – yet this evening sent out a media statement saying it was invalid”. 

DAA said it had lodged the “straightforward ‘no build’ application to provide a short-term solution to the planning cap impasse” but claimed that the council “refuses to be pragmatic about this issue of national importance, despite allowing for 40 million in its own development plan”.

“This ‘Snakes and Ladders’ approach to planning shows why decisions about Dublin Airport should be made at a national level by An Bord Pleanála and not locally by Fingal County Council,” the DAA said. 

Second application

Meanwhile, business group Fingal Chamber has squared up against local national schools and residents in north county Dublin, as well as environmental campaigners, in relation to another application that would see the cap raised to 40 million. 

Over 170 submissions have been filed with Fingal County Council related to the Infrastructure Application, which was made last November.

In a fresh wave of opposition against the lifting of the existing 32 million per annum passenger cap, the vast bulk of the new submissions are opposed to raising the cap and are in response to DAA’s large tranche of further information lodged on its Infrastructure Application (IA) with the Council.

As part of a 326-page submission, including appendices, St Margaret The Ward Residents Group has told the Council that it overwhelmingly opposes the expansion of operations at Dublin airport “due to the significant adverse impacts on public health, community well-being, and environmental sustainability”. 

They state that “the evidence presented underscores that such an expansion is neither justified nor consistent with planning, environmental, or legal obligations. The current proposals exacerbate noise pollution, contravene established mitigation objectives, and fail to align with Ireland’s climate commitments”.

On the climate impact, the residents’ group states that “the application poses a significant threat to Ireland’s climate goals”. 

Former Dublin MEP, Ciaran Cuffe (Green Party) is requesting that the Council reject the application “as it will increase noise exposure from aircraft to residents of greater Dublin and cause a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions”.

He said: “During a climate emergency, it is an act of folly to propose expanding airport passenger numbers by 25%.”

He said that DAA states that there is ‘unequivocal national demand for air travel which is essential to Ireland as an island state’ but “is unfortunately not prepared to address the limits that must be imposed on demand due to the existential threat posed by climate change”.

In a separate submission, on behalf of the Children’s Rights Over Flights campaign, Louise O’Leary states that in the context of the climate crisis, children’s rights need to be prioritised over any increased flights or expansion to Dublin Airport.

Former Environmental Editor at The Irish Times, Frank McDonald has told the council that he does “not believe that the untrammelled growth of Dublin Airport — or, indeed, Dublin itself — is in the national interest and would urge that permission is refused”.

The Kilcoskan National School Parents Association has told the council that if the passenger 40m cap is approved, “this would mean more flights, more noise and more pollution over the children and staff at Kilcoskan National School which would be detrimental”. 

The association states that over the last two years, since the opening of the North Runway, “we have been dealing with the unapproved flight path going over the school and this has been causing tremendous stress for the school and local community”..

A number of submissions lodged by individuals living in the north Dublin area state that it is simply unbelievable that a 25% increase in passenger capacity and aircraft movements will result in no additional environmental impacts, as DAA suggests.

Dermot and Lisa Morris of Surgalstown South, Kilsallaghan, Co Dublin contend that the DAA grant value of €20,000 to home-owners to fully insulate those homes that qualify is not adequate.

DA Terminal 3 Ltd is a company set up by brothers, Ulick and Des McEvaddy to advance their plans for a third terminal at Dublin airport.

As part of a 35 submission, on behalf of DA Terminal 3 Ltd, CPWA Planning and Architecture state that there has been no provision in DAA’s development proposal that has regard for the third terminal at Dublin airport.

The submission contends that the DAA proposal is premature until such time as a location for the 3rd terminal is determined by the Dept of Transport.

However, chief executive of Fingal Chamber, Anthony Cooney has told the council that “maintaining the 32 million passenger cap at Dublin Airport will have profound negative effects on Ireland’s economy, employment, and international connectivity. Addressing this issue is crucial to support the country’s economic growth and global competitiveness”.

On behalf of the Irish Aviation Research Institute, Trevor Buckley stated that raising the passenger cap to 40m “is for the common good, to generate further economic growth for Ireland Inc, through new airline and route development creating new job and tourism opportunities”.

With reporting by David Mac Redmond 

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