Newsletter Nr.1 - April 2001

United Portmarnock Residents Opposing Another Runway

Who are we?
Uproar is a task force of the Portmarnock Community Association established, following a general meeting of residents, to oppose the proposed development of a new runway at Dublin Airport. This newsletter is produced to keep you advised of progress. It is intended to issue newsletters monthly.

Huge attendance at Public Meeting
Almost 600 concerned residents of Pormarnock attended a public meeting held in the GAA hall on 1st March.The Manager of Dublin Airport Mr Bob Hilliard gave a presentation on behalf of Aer Rianta in which he explained their commercial plans. He confirmed that the flight path for the new proposed runway would bring aircraft directly over the densely populated areas of Portmarnock.
Speaker after speaker expressed their fundamental and total opposition to this plan. They queried the necessity for the second runway, one pointed out that Gatwick Airport handles much greater passenger numbers with only one runway. Another speaker stated that the existing runway could handle a much greater number of aircraft if the taxiways from it were modified. Another speaker suggested that Aer Rianta's plans at this stage might have much to do with the proposed privatisation of Aer Rianta. Are they trying to get the plan cleared by the authorities before going public in order to maximize the value of Aer Rianta?
A resident of St Margarets who already experiences life under the flight path described their horrific experiences and urged Portmarnock residents to act fast to put a stop to the plan.
From the floor, the issues of noise levels, health and safety were raised and discussed. Aer Rianta has an agenda to build the runway but the unanimous result of the meeting was that Portmarnock residents must put an immediate stop to the plan. There was a determination, rarely seen before in the area, that it will not be built.

What Next?
Following the Public Meeting 'UPROAR' has organized itself into Action Groups as follows:
1) Strategy, Legal, Political.
2) Environmental Group
3) Research
4) Publicity, Communications
5) Fund Raising, Finance
6) Direct Action Group
These groups are meeting separately and jointly to plan a campaign of action.

Petition Signing
Uproar has organized that volunteers will call to every household asking all residents over 12 years of age to sign a petition showing their opposition to the new runway. This will be presented to Government, politicians and planning authorities. You can help by completing the form overleaf and having it available for collection.

Fund Raising
In order to be successful in this campaign funds will be required for publicity, newsletters, planning appeals and expert advice. It is intended that volunteers will call to all households seeking a subscription of £5 per household. Receipts will be issued by the collectors who will show identification. Please help us to help you.

The Issues
In the case of the proposed runway the health and safety issues are not possible to discount. All families in Portmarnock should take time to understand the exposure and risks we will all face. More particularly your children may spend 100% of their early years under a flight path. It wasn't how we spent our early years. Ask yourself, when you walk through Portmarnock towards the tranquility of the beach, how will your world sound, smell and taste as we as a community are assaulted by this proposed flight path.
Noise Levels: The existing flight path brings most aircraft over the Baldoyle Estuary and yet the noise levels of aircraft are often intolerable to residents. The new flight path will bring aircraft directly over your home. Will you be able to have windows open? Will you be able to relax in your garden? Consider nighttime disturbance from aircraft. Remember that Aer Rianta plan to more than double the capacity of the airport by this action, think of aircraft flying over your home say once every 60 seconds for much of the day.
Air Pollution: Aircraft emit fumes and sometimes release fuel into the atmosphere on their approach for landing. Residents will have already on occasions experienced this pollution in the atmosphere when on the beach and Baldoyle Coast Road.
Health and Safety: There are the obvious risks from accidents of living under the direct flight path to a busy airport but not so obvious is the risk of objects including large chunks of ice falling from aircraft. There were several such incidents in the UK last year, with near fatal consequences in two cases. Perhaps more alarming is a Transport 2000 environmental group report which quotes consultants in Chicago who found that risk of cancer was five times greater than the regional average if you live on the approach to that airport. The report gave other alarming findings from studies in Seattle. This is thought to be resulting from aircraft emitting benzene a known carcinogen.
Our Beach: The beautiful beach of Portmarnock, which is one of the great scenic assets of Dublin, will become an area to be avoided, as users will be bombarded with noise and fumes.
· Airport Trends Worldwide: In other countries new airports are being developed further from built-up areas and existing airports close to cities are being restricted from further development.
Flooding: It is believed that much of the flooding occurring in Portmarnock in recent times is related to the surface water drainage from the car parks and other developments at Dublin Airport. The plans to more than double the airport's capacity will greatly exacerbate the problem.
Road Congestion: The road infrastructure in north Dublin cannot cope with the existing traffic, to more than double Dublin Airport's capacity would make it intolerable.
House Values: For most of us, our home is our main investment. The building of the proposed runway would seriously devalue this investment.

What can you do now?
Join the action group to fight the runway. Whether or not you have a special expertise you can help. We need all the support we can get. Contribute to the fund raising. Write to Mary O'Rourke, Minister for Public Enterprise, 44 Kildare Street, Dublin 2 and to other politicians and to Mr. W. Soffe, Fingal Co. Manager, Fingal Hall, Main St. Swords.

No planning permission exists for the new runway. It is our job, on behalf of current residents and future generations, to ensure planning permission is never obtained.