Only 80 out of 4,000 drones are licensed by users

Just 80 out of 4,000 drone users here are licensed to fly them – as the number of drones in use here continues to rise.

The figures were revealed as the the Unmanned Aircraft Association of Ireland (UAAI) hosted their inaugural open day at the Meet the Drones’ showcase event at Weston Airport in Lucan in Dublin.

The event, sponsored by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), highlighted a number of key issues in relation to Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) – or drones – in use here including safety requirements, new developments in enforcement, regulation, data protection and privacy. It is estimated there are 4,000 drones in use in Ireland and the sector is growing at a significant rate.