That the Minister for Public Enterprise address the need for a curfew to end the sleep deprivation of residents living near Dublin Airports, in particular, and that independent noise monitoring and noise abatement measures be put in place along with effective sanctions where noise limits are breached and that the level of air traffic at Dublin Airport be capped and correspondingly that air traffic and airport development be de-centralised in the interests of regional development and to avoid excessive congestion in the air and on land

Trevor Sargeant T.D.

On behalf of my senior colleague, Minister 0' Rourke, who cannot be here this evening, I would like to put the position in relation to the issues which the Deputy has raised on the record of the House. I would like to say at the outset that the Minister is very much aware of the concerns of some residents living on the approach flight path to Dublin Airport regarding aircraft noise.

Dublin Airport is the country's main access point by air and serves the growing needs of the travelling public in our capital city and surrounding counties. It is also the main facility catering for the needs of our tourism, business and freight sectors, nationally.
While traffic through Shannon and Cork airports and the regional airports, continues to grow, Dublin Airport is, and will remain, critical for continued national economic development. Apart from its significance for the development of the national economy, Dublin Airport will also continue to be highly significant for the local economy of Fingal County where it provides substantial and valuable employment for the people of the surrounding areas both directly and indirectly through the many service industries that have grown-up m and around the airport.

It is against this background and recognising the pivotal role of Dublin Airport in Irish aviation and the National Economy, that the question of aircraft noise needs to be considered.

The regulations which apply in Ireland to aircraft noise levels are those which have been promulgated at International level by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the European Union. Under these regulations, the older and noisier generation of aircraft will be banned from European Union aixports, including Dublin Airport, from 1 April next year.

I should also point out that with regard to developing policy on noise generally, the meeting of the Council of Enviromnent Ministers last December reached agreement on a proposed Directive on the assessment and management of environmental noise. The overall aim of the proposal is to ensure that actions are taken to reduce enviromnental noise levels where necessary and to prevent levels, which are currently satisfactory, from increasing. The proposed Directive deals with ambient noise from industry and major transport sources including larger airports.

The proposals provide for the competent authorities to prepare and adopt noise maps and action plans and make noise information available to the public. These action plans must be drawn up for, inter alia, airports with over 50,000 take-offs and landings annually which would, of course, include Dublin Airport. The proposal is currently under consideration by the European Parliament and Ireland has been supportive of its development to date.

There are positive developments with regard to aircraft noise management m the vicinity of Dublin Airport. Aer Rianta has advised that, in conjunction with representatives of the aviation industry, it has recently developed a new noise management strategy for Dublin Airport. An important part of this strategy will be the installation and commissioning by Aer Rianta of noise and flight track monitoring system. It is planned to have the equipment in place by the end of this year. This system will provide precise measurements of the noise generated by all aircraft arriving or departing at Dublin Airport and it will also monitor and record the flight path taken by these aircraft.

The noise and flight track monitoring system will assist in ensuring that local communities experience the least possible disturbance from aircraft noise. It is the intention of Aer Rianta to make this information available to all interested parties and to enter into discussion with all local interest groups in an effort to further reduce the impact of aircraft noise on local communities. The accuracy of the information gathered can be audited if necessaiy.

The Irish Aviation Authority will be supporting the aircraft track and noise monitoring system by making available radar data. The Authority have also assisted in alleviating the impact of aircraft noise, by the introduction of departures procedures at Dublin Airport, which minimise the impact of aircraft on major residential areas.

With regard to air traffic and airport development in the context of regional development, traffic at Shannon and Cork airports which are, of course, owned and managed by Aer Rianta has grown strongly in recent years and Aer Rianta is investing heavily in their continued development and promotion. The Minister wishes to remind the House that the Government is committed to supporting the smaller regional airports and has been providing financial support to assist the development of these airports through Marketing Grants, Capital Grants and by subsidising regional air services.

While these airports are important to the regions which they serve, it is neither feasible nor realistic to propose that they could in some way cater for the traffic which wishes to fly into Dublin Airport.

Dublin Airport, as well as the other Irish airports, must be in a position to provide the facilities necessary to cater for future traffic growth, and accordingly, the Minister has no current plans to introduce night time curfews or to cap the growth of Dublin Airport at this time. While the concerns of residents about aircraft noise are recognised, the needs of other sectors, such as manufacturing industry, international cargo operators, charter operators and their passengers. must also be borne in mind These sectors rely very heavily on open access at Dublin Airport, particularly in view of modern 'lust in time" distribution methods which are essential to the functioning of modern international compames.

I should point out that the Minister is currently awaiting the outcome of Aer Rianta's review of its long-term Master Plan for Dublin Airport. That review is being carried out in consultation with the stakeholders, including airlines and other business customers and local residents. The Plan will determine the key requirements in terms of future development of infrastructural facilities so as to ensure that the airport has sufficient capacity to meet future demand. That process of stakeholder consultation is not yet complete.