Seamus Horan has been on UPROAR's committee for six years and he told the Fingal Independent that it didn't make sense for the airport to be allowed to expand indefinitely and it was now time to draw a line in the sand.

Mr Horan said Portmarnock residents would be living in a 'chronic noise corridor' if the proposed northern parallel runway at Dublin Airport was allowed to go ahead.

The UPROAR spokesperson said the project would impact on up to 13 schools which would be 'subjected to chronic noise and emissions from the aircraft.

He said the community was involved in a 'David and Goliath' battle and said: 'If a community doesn't stand up for its children like this then its views are ignored.

The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) says it has put in place a series of measures that will mitigate any negative impacts on its neighbours.

Those measures include sound insulation schemes for nearby schools and private homes as well as a voluntary buy-out scheme for houses closer to the proposed new runway.

The DAA is also to establish, a 'Community Fund' to 'benefit the most
affected_ 'communities as a result of the runway.

The issue of noise was first on the agenda, on the first day of the oral hearings which were adjourned for several hours while a potential conflict of interest was investigated

As An Bord Pleanala scrambled to resolve what it called a 'potential or perceived conflict of interest', residents from Portmarnock and St Margaret's, who oppose the runway were left dazed and confused.

Oral hearings had begun on l4 appeals against the Fingal County Council decision to grant permission for a second parallel runway at Dublin Airport but were dramatically halted after only minutes.

An Bord Pleanala Inspector, Pauline Fitzpatrick adjourned the hearings after less than 15 minutes saying, that it had come to her attention that there was 'a potential or perceived conflict of interest' that needed to be resolved.

The Fingal Independent understands that the hearings were halted because a noise consultant retained by An Bord Pleanala for the duration of the hearings, had a role in preparing the Dublin Airport Authority's original planning application.

It is understood that the consultants employed by the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) to prepare its planning application, Scott Wilson, had hired a noise consultant called Geoff Charles from consultancy firm, Bickerdike Allen to review noise data it had compiled in the preparation of the application. A DAA spokesperson said that Mr Charles had - been involved in a 'minor way' in the planning application and was not
retained by the DAA, but by its planning consultants.

The spokesperson said the company was not aware that An Bord Pleanala had retained Mr Charles until yesterday morning (Tuesday), minutes before the oral hearings began.

A long and complex oral hearing will hear 14 appeals against Fingal County Council's decision to grant permission for a second parallel runway at Dublin Airport and a further six observations on the proposal.

The hearings will also consider an appeal from the DAA itself against some of the 39 planning conditions imposed on the project by the council.