‘We don’t want to have drones flying over our head during a funeral’
Fears that drone activity could disrupt funeral services, were among the concerns raised at a public meeting in Dundrum, south Dublin.
Bobby Healy, CEO of Manna Drones Ltd, met with local residents in Taney Parish Hall, Dundrum, last night, over the company’s proposals to set up a drone delivery site in the area.
A decision on the proposed site – in Dundrum village, close to Holy Cross Church – has been delayed after Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (DLRCC) requested further information on a number of aspects of the application.
Over 200 people gathered at the meeting, called by Fianna Fáil TD Shay Brennan, where residents raised their concerns about noise, privacy, the loss of jobs and damage to wildlife.
Addressing the meeting, Reverent Nigel Pierpoint said: “As a cleric and priest for families in this parish area in Dundrum, I’m worried it won’t be good for people’s state of mind to have drones flying over our head during a funeral.
“When someone has died and they’re trying to have a funeral service, this can be very disturbing. I have friends from Castleknock who say the drone deliveries are relentless.
“While the noise levels might not be unbearable, it is substantial. They’ve told us they run through the day and there is no respite.”
Another Dundrum resident, Tim Geraghty, said he felt like his neighbourhood was chosen without their permission.
“We’ve had a lovely summer and now we’re coming out of it thinking about how thousands and thousands of delivery drones will be flying over our house and our neighbour’s houses,” he said.
The operational hours for the delivery drones are between 9am to 9pm, and the company primarily delivers fast food and pharmacy items to people’s homes.
On the issue of noise, Mr Healy insisted the drones “are no louder than a motorcar”.
Seamus Doyle, a Dublin 15 resident who attended the meeting, said: “I’m not worried about a motorcar, it’s out on the street. I hear these drones in my own back garden and it’s a much more piercing sound than a car.
“It’s like your garden is a busy road for these delivery drones. We’ve seen 10 or 12 over the course of several hours, maybe 40 or 50 in a day, possibly more.”
Other residents from Dublin 15, who were also at the meeting, described the drones “high pitched and intrusive”.
Earlier this year, Manna Air Delivery received an enforcement action from Fingal County Council for its operations in Dublin 15, where residents complained the use of delivery drones was a “noise nuisance”.
Manna has operated 200,000 delivery flights, including 36,000 in the Dublin 15 area. It currently plans to expand into areas like Dundrum and Glasnevin.
Mr Healy said that no independent study has been conducted on the effect of the drones, and any research that had been done was paid for by the company itself.
Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien has recently drafted a new framework that will introduce fines for drone operators which don’t adhere to noise, privacy and flightpath rules.
“We got enforcements orders in Coolmine (Blanchardstown), and we will contest them and flight for retention – nothing we’re doing currently is in contravention of planning rules,” Mr Healy said.
“The reason we applied for permission for our sites in Dundrum, Tallaght and Blanchardstown shopping centre, is because we’ve got structures like containers there and you need permission for that.
“We now finally have a new framework which could be a basis for more planning, and something for the planning authorities to look at.”
Mr Healy admitted the meeting with Dundrum residents was “tough”, but he felt optimistic about the company’s future.
Manna will hold a meeting with DLRCC later this year to answer their questions after 215 residents raised concerns and observations about the Dundrum application, particularly about noise.
“We will be ready to reply to the council within a few weeks. We’re burning the midnight oil, we fully intend to answer all the questions,” Mr Healy said.
“We had to go through a similar process in Tallaght, so we have a lot of the work done already. I think we’ve seen all the complaints we’ll get from Dundrum.
“I’m a resident of this area myself, my whole family is. I have as much a right as anyone else here to speak up.
“It would be much more different if I came from America and I was heading up a tech business,” he said.
“We’re a small Irish company facing the likes of Google. The people who resist this are by far the minority.
“The truth is that we’re such an unusual, disruptive technology – we used to wave red flags in front of cars when they first came out,” he added.