LAST UPDATE | 30 Mar 2023

PEOPLE BEFORE PROFIT is to bring a Bill to the Dáil after Easter to ban private jets in Irish air space after it was revealed in new research there were 6,671 private flights in Ireland in 2022.

Sinn Féin is also calling for the introduction of a private jet tax.

The Greenpeace report found that the most used airport for private aviation is Dublin Airport with 3,445 departing flights in 2022.

The most frequently used route for private aviation in all years was the route between Dublin and London.

The shortest used route for private aviation was the route between Kerry and Shannon.

Greenpeace is now calling for the EU and national governments to ban private jets as part of a plan to tackle the climate crisis.

In the wake of the report, People Before Profit confirmed it will bring a Bill to the Dáil to ban private jets in Irish air space after Easter. 

“We are bringing forward this legislation to ban private jet travel over Irish air space because they are a major source of carbon emissions. They are completely inequitable in that only the very wealthy can use them,” People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith said. 

“It is completely unjust that ordinary people are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis, such as hikes in carbon taxes while having no real alternatives to change personal behaviour. The recent rejection by the government of fare free public transport is one example of this,” Smith said. 

“Yet very wealthy people use private jets which are so destructive to the climate.”

Responding to the research, Sinn Féin Senator Lynn Boylan renewed Sinn Féin’s calls for the introduction of a private jet tax, citing the party’s alternative budget, which called for the introduction of a €3,000 private jet tax. 

Her calls for such a tax were dismissed by the Government, citing a lack of data, she claims. 

“Well, now we have the data and it is worse than we had estimated.

“The carbon emissions of private jets in Ireland have soared to 67,903 tonnes, with one average flight emitting roughly the same emissions as a petrol car driving 40,000km,” she said. 

Boylan said the Irish Government need to take the lead on this issue.

“Climate justice advocates have long argued that not all carbon emissions are created equal. To date, the government’s approach has been about punishing ordinary people while the wealthy are exempt to continue living their carbon-intensive lifestyles.

“Ideally, I would like to see an end to non-essential private jets but as a bare minimum, a levy on private jets would at least demonstrate that the government are in fact committed to a real, just transition,” she said. 

With reporting by Hayley Halpin