FINGAL COUNTY COUNCIL has issued an enforcement notice on daa to reduce the number of night flights at Dublin Airport to a maximum of 65 between 11pm and 7am.
The notice, which was issued on 28 July, states that the airport operator has six weeks to comply with the notice.
The council said the notice comes following complaints about night time flights at the airport.
The Planning Authority carried out an investigation into alleged breaches of Condition 5 of the planning permission for the North Runway at Dublin Airport.
When Dublin Airport was granted approval for the new runway in 2007, Condition 5 was put in place to cap the number of flights between 11pm and 7am could not exceed 65.
It was put in place to control the frequency of night flights at the airport “so as to protect residential amenity having regard to the information submitted concerning future night time use of the existing parallel”.
The council issued the notice after carrying out the investigation. It requires daa to reduce the number of flights within six weeks, as well as to pay the council €350 for costs and expenses incurred by it in relation to the investigation.
The notice states that if daa does not comply within six weeks, or an extended period of six months if it is granted by the council, then it may “enter on the land and take such steps, including the removal, demolition or alteration of any structure, and may recover any expenses reasonably incurred by them in that behalf”.
It states that daa may also be guilty of an offence if it fails to comply with the notice.
In a statement, daa said it was “disappointed” by the decision and that it had only been given six weeks to limit flights.
It said it comes “in the middle of peak summer season”.
The statement called on Fingal County Council to suspend the “overly onerous conditions” or give at least the six months that the council has acknowledged is available under its planning laws.
“This would avoid any needless disruption to peoples’ travel plans and airlines’ cargo operations,” it said.
Daa CEO Kenny Jacobs said the enforcement notice would mean the number of night flights across Dublin Airport’s two runways would be lower than before North Runway opened.
“It would be like increasing the number of seats in Croke Park to 100,000 but cutting the capacity for games to 50,000. It makes no sense, and the travelling public deserves better,” he said.
He said Fingal County Council’s decision would be “bad for the Irish consumer, bad for the Irish economy, bad for Ireland’s connectivity with the world and bad for the effective operation of Dublin Airport”.
“Daa is fully committed to balancing the needs of a major international airport, one that is a vital economic driver and facilitator of the Irish economy, with the needs of local people.
“We are also committed to working in close co-operation with Fingal County Council and we call on them to see sense on this issue and avoid unnecessary disruption to flights and protect connectivity and jobs.”
Irish business group Ibec has said Fingal County Council’s decision could “potentially cause unnecessary disruptions to trade and tourism”.
Aidan Sweeney, head of enterprise and regulatory affairs at Ibec, said: “This comes at a crucial time when Dublin should be serving as Ireland’s global gateway. Unfortunately, this decision does not align with good planning and business practices.
“As a trade-intensive island at the edge of Europe, Ireland heavily relies on its aviation transport infrastructure for international connectivity, playing a vital role in our economic prosperity, particularly in trade and tourism,” he said.
Speaking to The Journal, Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell said he is “very pleased” with the decision to serve the notice.
“The daa have been very much aware for nine months now, possibly even a year, that their nighttime use was potentially going to exceed the 65 movements per night,” he said.
“Personally I’m very pleased that the local authority has made this decision following extensive research into the matter. The daa must adhere to the law because it’s not just about the commercial activities of the airport, it’s also about people’s capacity to live a normal, healthy life in the vicinity of the airport without fear of disruption and disturbed sleep.”
The Dublin Fingal TD said he has had “hundreds” of emails since September last year from people in Portmarnock and other communities in north County Dublin.
“They are saying that ‘it’s intolerable, it’s waking us, it’s keeping us up at night’. I’ve literally gotten emails at five in the morning from people and they’re to the point, shall we say. People are frustrated and angry,” he said.
Farrell described the daa’s response to the notice as “disappointing”, adding that their communication with local communities has been “abysmal”.
“They have planned hundreds and hundreds of flights on a weekly basis between 11pm and 7am so it’s their responsibility to adhere to the law,” he said.
“I think it’s extremely frustrating that their response is so disconnected from the reality of the experience of the community based on foot of their decision to schedule so many flights that have impacted so many lives across the north county.”
Sinn Féin TD Louise O’Reilly has also welcomed the enforcement notice, saying it is “important” that DAA rectify the matter within the six-week timeframe.
“It didn’t take DAA six weeks to breach the conditions of their planning permission, so it shouldn’t take them more than six weeks to rectify the matter,” she said.
“The DAA is not above the law and the authority must comply with the conditions of their planning permission.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say