Tensions are mounting amid the first of a series of rolling protests at Dublin Airport, planned by community representatives angered by noise levels and other issues.
DAA, which operates the airport, has warned the community group it will not tolerate any action taken on its private property.
Company secretary Miriam Ryan advised it in writing that no permission would be granted to allow any protests take place on its campus.
“It would be completely unacceptable if passengers were impacted in any way in the build-up to the busy Christmas holiday season,” she wrote. “This communication should be considered formal notice of our rights and obligations in this matter.”
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The St Margaret’s The Ward (SMTW) community forum, in response to the DAA’s refusal for a further meeting, said it will now undertake regular demonstrations along the main airport access routes, the first of which took place on Sunday.
In written exchanges with airport management, the group dismissed a meeting earlier this year with DAA chief executive Kenny Jacobs as an unproductive “box ticking exercise”.
Relations between the community and DAA has continued to sour since the opening of the north runway in 2022 and because of concerns around night time flights. DAA is currently attempting to have its statutory 32 million annual passenger cap extended.
“Our children are suffering from sleep deprivation, which we believe is adversely affecting their educational potential and overall wellbeing,” the group wrote in its unsuccessful request for a meeting with the company’s board of directors.
“We cannot allow the ongoing and unjust impact on our health to continue. We believe that sleep is a human right, and its deprivation has severe consequences.”
For its part, the DAA listed a comprehensive programme of community engagement efforts and expenditure designed to mitigate the effects of its operations.
“Aware” of its impact on the community, Ms Ryan said the DAA must operate a major international hub and “strike a balance” between the two.
“That’s always going to be difficult, but we are constantly working to minimise the impact and listen to community feedback,” she wrote.
DAA has continually responded to community ire with a breakdown of its appeasement efforts. Among them, it points to ongoing noise monitoring and mitigation; the insulation of over 170 surrounding homes to date, and schools; and a €10 million community fund.
It says its Voluntary Dwelling Purchase Scheme (VDPS) has bought six homes close to the airport at a 30 per cent premium above market value, with a further 12 transactions in process. Over 40 homes have been made offers.
However, its response to the SMTW Forum notification of planned demonstrations was unflinching in its view that “any unlawful protests on daa property could cause safety and security issues”.
The SMTW group said that, with no meeting on offer, its “peaceful community demonstration” would proceed as planned.
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