Drone delivery services may return before policy group has even met

Deliveroo said their initial pilot in Blanchardstown with drone operator company Manna 'demonstrated real demand and potential'. File picture: INPHO/Dan Clohessy

Drone delivery services, which have proved unpopular with a number of communities, could be set to return to Ireland, despite a working group to develop national policy in the area not even having had its first meeting yet.

A spokesperson for Deliveroo told the Irish Examiner: “We are exploring the possibility of bringing a drone delivery service back to Ireland. Before commencing any potential commercial operations, we would consult with regulators, councils and communities to hear their views and ensure all necessary permissions are in place.” 

The spokesperson said they had no formal plans or details around locations, operators or timings, to share at this time. They added that their initial pilot in Blanchardstown with drone operator company Manna “demonstrated real demand and potential”.

The company and Manna also ran a pilot in Cork City, operating from the Marina, which inspired concerns about privacy, noise and environmental impact raised by more than 600 locals through an Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) consultation.

Manna announced in June that it would be “strategically pausing” all its delivery operations in Ireland, over “the absence of a clear national policy framework for commercial drone delivery”.

“In the absence of such a framework, decisions are assessed locally, creating uncertainty around the planning and infrastructure requirements needed.”

Planning permission had been refused for two Dublin bases, leaving Blanchardstown — where permission was expiring in August — as Manna’s only Dublin base, while a Tallaght hub application was withdrawn.

Cork City Council in May opened a planning enforcement file on Manna’s Marina base, but said it had no power over the company’s operations in the sky, only its landing area, as the IAA is the regulatory body for airspace.

The same month, Cork City Council’s transport strategic policy committee hosted IAA representatives, who told councillors that they could only deal with the safety of drone operations but that a working group on how to deal with concerns such as noise and privacy was being established.

A spokesperson for IAA told Labour councillor Peter Horgan last month that this national working group was still in the process of being set up, and that once it is it will operate in an advisory capacity and will not replace the statutory responsibilities of the IAA.

They said that invitations to the organisations proposed for participation were “expected to issue shortly”, and arrangements for the inaugural meeting were being co-ordinated.

Mr Horgan said “the rules cannot be written while companies are already preparing to operate”. “This is not about Deliveroo as a company. It is about the complete lack of an appropriate framework governing the operation of drones as a commercial delivery service.” 

Resident concerns about noise, privacy, the impact on residential areas and the lack of meaningful consultation “have not disappeared”, he said.

“It is extraordinary that we are once again hearing about the potential return of commercial drone deliveries when the national working group tasked with developing the necessary policy and procedures has not even been established or met.” 

Independent councillor Kieran McCarthy said: “The national working group by the Irish Aviation Authority on noise and privacy needs to be set up as soon as possible. I remain concerned on the elements on privacy and noise and the impact on the environment.”

Asked if they were open to the return of drone delivery services and what progress had been made with regulations, the IAA said it “does not comment on applications from individuals or companies with respect to regulated activity, authorisations or certification”.