There wasn’t a pub big enough in south Dublin to fit the number of locals interested in giving there input on a planned drone delivery from Dundrum by Irish company Manna, Shay Brennan, Fianna Fáil TD for Dublin Rathdown, told a packed Taney Parish Centre on Wednesday night.
Local residents gathered to air concerns around the noise disruption the Manna drones would cause, the lack of regulation for the sector to the possibility of jammed drones falling from the sky.
“We have seen the destruction that drones have caused in Ukraine, if the only alternative use for drones is the delivery of convenience goods, then you can keep your drones as far as I’m concerned,” local resident and chair of Finsbury Park Residents Tim Geraghty said to a loud applause.
Referring to estimates put forward by Mr Brennan of the future proliferation of drone flights, Mr Geraghty said, “That does not have to be the case.”
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“Don’t forget, Ireland was the first country in the world to have a no smoking policy, we can also be the first country to say no drones,” he added.
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The meeting was called in response to a planning permission application submitted by Manna Drones Limited for the construction of an aerial delivery hub behind the Holy Cross Church on Main Street in Dundrum.
A decision in the case was due on August, with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council requesting further information on the application following “hundreds” of public observations on the plan.
At the meeting, Mr Brennan highlighted the publication of the framework for the regulation of the drone sector, which he said had a “balanced” approach to both local concerns and enabling innovation.
Bobby Healy, the founder and chief executive of drone delivery service Manna, said there were plans for the operation of two drones. He said they would fly 80 metres in the air (250 feet) above homes before descending to a height of 15 metres above the delivery location and lowering the product to the ground,
He said the process was “safe and effective” but acknowledged that there are “two big elephants in the room” in privacy and noise.
“I won’t baffle you with science, or try to excuse the fact that drones do make a noise,” he said in his opening remarks to the crowd. However, he said the noise would be “far less than you are already hearing from road traffic”.
“The level of noise while cruising is 59 decibels” with new propellers the company is seeking to introduce shortly reducing that volume to 56 decibels, which he likened to a passing car.
Mr Healy said Manna works with 47 businesses in Dublin 15, where it is currently operating among other locations, and urged the local residents in attendance not to discount the voice of people that are using the service. “Everybody is using the service in Dublin 15.”
Tony, from Dundrum, who did not give his surname, disagreed with the characterisation of the noise generated by the drones. He said, at a distance of 15 metres from the ground, “If it was quiet, you’d have no problem flying it in here,” pointing at the ceiling.
“We’d know all about it if it was flying over our heads in here,” he said, and called on Mr Healy to ensure that the noise report requested by the business was done by an independent party.
Cian White, a young local resident, stood in support of the introduction of the service.
“I see Manna as an interesting tech company going up against the likes of Google and Amazon creating cool new jobs in our area,” he said, decrying the use of objections in the planning system to stop developments in the area.
He described the room as being “65 plus” and noted that his generation were more supportive of the technology.
Seamus Doyle, a resident of Dublin 15 – who lives in the area where the delivery operation has been running – highlighted the impact the drones have had on him.
“I did have a back garden,” he said, noting that the peace he once had in his garden “is now gone” and lost to the “drones above your head.”
Mr Doyle said drone flights have been introduced in a “wild west”, welcoming the introduction of the newly published framework for drones.
Monsignor Paul Callan of the Holy Cross Parish, raised concerns about the location of the drone delivery site planned for Dundrum describing it as in “complete contrast to the nature of the church”. For users of the church, he said the noise would be a constant.
Reverend Nigel Pierpoint, Rector of the Taney Parish Dundrum, is also concerned: “When you are dealing with a family, particularly on the day of a funeral, you could hear drones flying overhead. It is a difficult day as it is without this added complication.”
While Manna said it would refrain from operating during the hours of funerals, Reverend Pierpoint said having to contact the company for every funeral is “not really practical”.
“You are dealing with families in very distressed states and that is where your focus is, it is not on ‘Oh I must remember to ring the drone company’.”
He said the concern was shared by other churches in the area.
Speaking to The Irish Times following the event, Mr Healy said the reception at the event was “perfectly normal”.
“It stems from a lack of information available and the perception of a lack of regulation,” he said.
“The vast majority of people don’t object to us, they’re in favour of business, but there is a small minority that is really against it and you heard them here tonight”.
