The founder of Irish drone company Manna has defended plans to expand aerial delivery services across Dublin despite concerns raised by local TDs and councillors in one test area about noise and privacy issues.
Manna CEO Bobby Healy was responding to questions about noise levels from drone flights in Dublin 15 on Prime Time, where the company currently uses drones to deliver a variety of products including takeaway food, coffee, and ice creams.
“We’ve done a number of things,” Mr Healy told Miriam O’Callaghan, “we invest heavily in the technology, we’ve introduced new propellers that will go live in the next few weeks. We’re waiting on regulatory approval to put them live, that makes them 40% more quiet.”
The service boasts delivery times of three to ten minutes and has been welcomed by some businesses, who say it has boosted trade.
In recent months, Mr Healy posted on LinkedIn saying the company was seeking ‘location partners’ in multiple other suburbs all around Dublin.
Residents in the Dublin 15 Manna pilot area who spoke to Prime Time said the constant drone traffic has disrupted daily life.
Fiona Hourihane, who lives near one Manna drone launch area, said “it’s a loud, intrusive noise into a peaceful setting.”
“Some days you might hear one or two, other days it’s five or more in quick succession. You don’t know when they’ll come, and you have no say.”
Ms Hourihane says she also has concerns about privacy.
“I think until it comes into your own immediate vicinity, your backyard, you don’t have a clue. It’s an invasion of our privacy. It’s an invasion of our quality of life,” she said.
Local Castleknock resident Barry O’Donnell is blind and also said his life has been disrupted by the sound of drones nearby.
“As I sweep my long cane against the walls… I’m getting the acoustic feedback, which is the sound of hitting the wall. The problem is when you get the drones overhead, that all goes,” he told Prime Time.
“You can drift into a driveway in error, or you can potentially drift onto the road in errors with a serious side effect,” he added.
“This is just not the way to introduce a new service or a new technology,” Labour Party Cllr John Walsh said. “It’s fundamentally wrong. And what’s needed is effective, transparent national regulation,”
Manna CEO Bobby Healy acknowledged that some complaints have been received, saying “I’ve personally answered nearly all of them.”
“In the year and a half we’ve been there – bear in mind this is covering 150,000 residents, over 44,000 households – we’ve received just over 100 complaints from Dublin 15 residents, and we’ve answered every single one of them and spoken to most of them,” he said.
“So we’re listening. We’ve made a lot of improvements. We’ve a lot more improvements to come, but we’re not ignoring those residents.”
Mr Healy also said that the service is supporting local businesses, pointing to one local coffee shop in Clonsilla which uses the Manna drone system to deliver coffees to customers across the area.
“That’s a small business in Dublin 15, employing about eight or nine people. They’re delighted to be able to deliver coffee and compete with Starbucks. So, I think that’s a great facility for small businesses to have,” Mr Healy said.
Mr Healy added that the company has plans to expand across different parts of Dublin, but there’s no plans to grow further in Dublin 15.
“We’re not going to be doing many more deliveries than we’re already delivering. We’re already grown there,” he said.
