O’Gorman calls for urgent Oireachtas hearing on commercial drone use after Manna–Deliveroo deal

Green Party Leader Roderic O’Gorman has written to the Chairperson of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, requesting that the Committee holds an urgent session on the use of commercial drones for delivery. He made the call following the announcement of deal between Manna and Deliveroo that will see increased drone us in Dublin 15.

“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”, stated Roderic O’Gorman TD.

Cllr Feljin Jose, Spokesperson for Transport for the Green Party, added:

"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 but we need to hit pause on this until that's in place."

O'Gorman continued:

"I have written to the Chairperson of the of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, which I sit on, requesting that the Committee holds an urgent session on the use of commercial drones for delivery. I believe that the Irish Aviation Authority, Manna, Deliveroo and officials from the Department of Transport all need to provide their input to this hearing."

“This announcement shows why the Minister for Transport needs to urgently publish the National Policy Framework for Drone Use. When I raised the issue of drone use in the Dail in February, the Minister said that this Policy was near completion. It needs 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”, concluded O’Gorman.