The process of drafting legislation that will remove Dublin Airport’s 32 million a year passenger cap is expected to happen soon.
A spokesperson for Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien said he is to bring a memo on the issue to Cabinet in the coming weeks.
They said the Minister is now pursuing “a legislative course of action” to make the lifting of the passenger cap happen.
It is understood that he will bring a memo to Government on the policy decision and to seek approval for the “development of a general scheme” and associated heads of Bill.
“If approved, a second memo with a General Scheme and associated heads of Bill to be brought to Government for a decision on priority drafting thereafter.”
The passenger cap at Dublin Airport is a long-running row with concerns vocalised regularly on both sides of the dispute.
Earlier this week, Michael O’ Leary, Chief Executive of Ryanair, accused the Government of breaking its promise with the current cap of 38 million passengers a year still in place.
“We elected a Government. They published a programme in January, promising to remove the cap as soon as possible, and nine months later, in September, no action,” he said. “We have a do nothing Government, a do nothing Minister.”
These signs of movement is likely to see arguments raised again on the economic benefits of removing the cap versus a rise in pollution.
While the passenger limit is opposed by airlines and the Dublin Airport Authority, resident groups and climate campaigners are angered by this likelihood of it progressing, in what they say, is the wrong direction.
Niamh Maher, a spokesperson for St Margaret’s The Ward Residents Group, said it is deeply upsetting that this is happening as other issues of concern such as more night flights have not been resolved.
Children’s Rights over Flights, a climate action group said it is “appalled” to hear that Minister Darragh O’Brien is attempting to push through the removal of the passenger cap at Dublin airport.
In a statement, it said “it is truly shocking that a minister tasked with tackling climate change “is taking steps that would massively increase the pollution causing”.
The cap on passengers at Dublin Airport has been in place since 2007 to limit traffic congestion.
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The daa has predicted that lifting the passenger cap to 40 miilion passenger journeys per year would increase flight emissions by 24%.
The projection is contained in a planning application submitted to Fingal County Council in December 2023.
The document projects that lifting the cap from 32 million to 40 million would see an extra 580,495 tons of CO2 equivalent emissions in 2034, almost a quarter higher than if the cap remained at the current level.
The percentage differrence between the two scenarios, remains the same for 2046, at 24%. However, because the daa predicts that emissions from flights associated with Dublin Airport will start falling from 2031, it says that extra emissions will be 361,421 tons CO2E by 2046.
The chapter on Climate in the planning application predicts there will be significant cuts in emissions achieved by aircraft switching from kerosene to Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and even greater carbon savings as airplanes become more fuel efficient at a rate of 2% per year.
