Dublin Airport (Passenger Capacity) Bill 2026: Committee and Remaining Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-08
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Lorraine Clifford-Lee (FF), Nominated by the Taoiseach

As the Minister knows, I have been engaging with communities for a long time in relation to the issues they are experiencing around Dublin Airport, whether that is the voluntary dwelling purchase scheme, the insulation scheme or the issues the residents in St. Margaret's The Ward have in relation to the development of their community and the lack of investment into the community. As the Minister knows, the northern runway has been presenting huge problems since it opened in August 2022. The residents are feeling ignored and neglected in relation to this. The northern runway suddenly saw flights flying over parts of north county Dublin that were never supposed to be under the path. In particular, the children of Kilcoskan National School, who have gone through an awful time being suddenly under the flight path, really need to be thought about at this time. I would like to see greater engagement with the residents. I know, and the Minister alluded to it, that a new chair of the DAA has been appointed and we are awaiting the appointment of a new CEO. I would hope that a serious turnabout in relation to the level of engagement will occur.
The Minister has a general power under the Bill we currently have to direct the DAA for any purpose. Therefore, while I agree with the sentiments of the proposed amendment, it is probably unnecessary, given that the Minister has that power under the Bill currently. I would like to see him use it, however, and direct the DAA to have proper, decent engagement. It is something on which I have engaged with the Minister. I thank him for that engagement and I will continue to engage with him on it, but it is really important that we think about the residents. Yes, we support Dublin Airport and we support the economic impact Dublin Airport gives not only Dublin but the whole country, but we cannot forget about the residents. I will have the opportunity to speak on the voluntary buy-out scheme later as we are discussing other amendments. I just want to emphasise that this power is already in the Bill and I would like to see the Minister use it.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-07-08/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:10+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-08