Dublin Airport (Passenger Capacity) Bill 2026: Committee and Remaining Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-08
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Joe Conway (IND), Cultural and Educational Panel

When we had the debate last week, I listed a number of critical safety, resilience and security questions for the Minister of State who was here, Deputy Buttimer. I followed this up with an email to the Minister's office yesterday. Latterly, I got back a very comprehensive reply from the Minister's private secretary. Perhaps I should not have mentioned that. Be that as it may, the answer to the questions I asked was generally that none of the investigations I specified, which related to security, safety and resilience, had been carried out. Here in the Seanad, we often pride ourselves on being an informed Legislature and a revising Chamber. When we ask critical questions about safety, security and resilience at the airport, such an answer comes as a great disappointment to us. Senator McCarthy talked about what happened at London recently. It is happening at airports all over the world. The resilience factor and regional airports are very important. There has to be a plan B if the big airport goes down. That is self-evident.
I am happy to indicate those items that are of concern to me. I am not the only one concerned about them. Unlike the Minister, I do not live under the flight path of Dublin Airport. However, I do live under what I hope will be the flight path of Waterford Airport. As a keen aircraft watcher, I am looking forward to that. I will be there with my binoculars day in and day out. However, I will not be dying from ingesting too much particulate matter because regional airports are easier to live beside. I get communications from people who live near the airport and I pity them. They are hostages to the untrammelled development of Dublin Airport.

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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