Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien has moved to lift the cap on passenger numbers at Dublin Airport after President Catherine Connolly signed new legislation into law.
The government has been under pressure to lift the 32 million passenger-per-year cap, which is currently suspended pending a European Court ruling.
The airport overshot the limit by 4 million passengers last year.
The cap has come under fire from European and US airlines.
Mr O’Brien in a statement welcomed the signing of the law by President Connolly, and said he hoped an order to amend or revoke the cap would be made as soon as possible following an environmental assessment.
“I plan to immediately commence the relevant provisions of the Act,” he said. “This will now facilitate the sustainable development of Dublin Airport.”
Mr O’Brien said in May that he had hoped the bill would become law by July.
The number of passengers at Ireland’s main airport was capped at 32 million by planners in 2007, in part to avoid local road congestion.
Some local residents support capping passenger numbers at the airport, which carries around 80% of the country’s air traffic.
Environment groups have warned its removal would weaken oversight of a high-emission sector.
But the measure has been opposed by Irish airline bosses, who warn it would damage the country’s economy.
US airlines have also opposed the cap, prompting their representative body and Irish carriers to warn that the US government could retaliate and restrict transatlantic flights from Dublin if the cap is not quickly scrapped.
