Aviation authority invited to meet councillors soon
The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has been invited to attend the next session of Cork City Council's Transport Strategic Policy Committee (SPC), following criticism of a proposed restricted zone for drone flights on the city's north side.
The zone has drawn criticism from local councillors over the effects that it is likely to have on local businesses and volunteer groups.
The IAA has announced that a public consultation will be taking place until 14 March.
The Unmanned Aircraft System Geographical Zone (UGZ) would cover Tivoli, Mayfield, Ballyvolane, and Blackpool. An area covering Cork Prison will be excluded. It will operate between 8am and 10pm.
The zone is being proposed to facilitate what the IAA calls “the safe conduct of Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations over Cork city”, meaning the operator being facilitated cannot see the drone that they are controlling.
It is understood the commercial operator who is being facilitated is Manna, a drone delivery service, which currently operates 15 drone hubs in Dublin city.
All other operators will be required to give two-days notice before using their drones.
Green Party Cllr Oliver Moran has been critical of the IAA's handling of the situation.
“I’m not at all happy with the Irish Aviation Authority. They announced the start of the restrictions before they even announced the public consultation. There are ideas emerging, some of them with potential to put Cork at the forefront of the drone industry in terms of the sharing of airspace. We need to see how that advances and that all partners involved will step up to that challenge,” he said.
It is understood the restrictions will be implemented temporarily pending the completion of the public consultation. The restrictions came into place on 16 February, and will run until 9 March.
Labour Party Cllr Peter Horgan expressed similar concerns to Cllr Moran.
“A two-day notice period for drone activity is not manageable and is not realistic given people’s experiences in Dublin.
“The skies should be for everyone and I am concerned for hobbyists, engineering works, photojournalists, and tradespeople on the impact this will have if made permanent,” he said.
Drone Action D15, an advocacy group for those impacted by drone flights over their homes said that developments in Cork cannot be allowed to happen the way they did in Dublin.
“Cork has the opportunity to get this right from the outset. Innovation must be balanced with community consent, enforceable planning controls, biodiversity assessment and meaningful public consultation. Communities should not find themselves retrofitting protections after commercial operations are already embedded,” they said in a statement.
Manna has partnerships with both Deliveroo and Just Eat. They also operate internationally in Finland and the US.
The company has said it aims to expand to Cork in 2026. As such, they require IAA approval to operate in the city.