{"id":13164,"date":"2025-08-21T05:06:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T05:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/13164\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T05:06:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T05:06:08","slug":"residents-express-concerns-about-drone-deliveries-from-dundrum-at-meeting-with-manna-boss-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/13164\/","title":{"rendered":"residents express concerns about drone deliveries from Dundrum at meeting with Manna boss \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

There wasn\u2019t a pub big enough in south Dublin to fit the number of locals interested in giving there input on a planned drone delivery from Dundrum by Irish company Manna<\/a>, Shay Brennan, Fianna F\u00e1il TD for Dublin Rathdown, told a packed Taney Parish Centre on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

Local residents gathered to air concerns around the noise disruption the Manna drones would cause, the lack of regulation for the sector to the possibility of jammed drones falling from the sky.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have seen the destruction that drones have caused in Ukraine, if the only alternative use for drones is the delivery of convenience goods, then you can keep your drones as far as I\u2019m concerned,\u201d local resident and chair of Finsbury Park Residents Tim Geraghty said to a loud applause.<\/p>\n

Referring to estimates put forward by Mr Brennan of the future proliferation of drone flights, Mr Geraghty said, \u201cThat does not have to be the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TimTim Geraghty was one local residents in south Dublin, the Irish drone delivery company, Manna. Photograph: Hugh Dooley \/ The Irish Times. <\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t forget, Ireland was the first country in the world to have a no smoking policy, we can also be the first country to say no drones,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Drone operators to face fines for breaches of new regulationsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

The meeting was called in response to a planning permission application submitted by Manna Drones Limited for the construction of an aerial delivery hub behind the Holy Cross Church on Main Street in Dundrum.<\/p>\n

A decision in the case was due on August, with D\u00fan Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council requesting further information on the application following \u201chundreds\u201d of public observations on the plan.<\/p>\n

At the meeting, Mr Brennan highlighted the publication of the framework for the regulation of the drone sector, which he said had a \u201cbalanced\u201d approach to both local concerns and enabling innovation.<\/p>\n

Bobby Healy, the founder and chief executive of drone delivery service Manna, said there were plans for the operation of two drones. He said they would fly 80 metres in the air (250 feet) above homes before descending to a height of 15 metres above the delivery location and lowering the product to the ground,<\/p>\n

He said the process was \u201csafe and effective\u201d but acknowledged that there are \u201ctwo big elephants in the room\u201d in privacy and noise.<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t baffle you with science, or try to excuse the fact that drones do make a noise,\u201d he said in his opening remarks to the crowd. However, he said the noise would be \u201cfar less than you are already hearing from road traffic\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe level of noise while cruising is 59 decibels\u201d with new propellers the company is seeking to introduce shortly reducing that volume to 56 decibels, which he likened to a passing car.<\/p>\n

Mr Healy said Manna works with 47 businesses in Dublin 15, where it is currently operating among other locations, and urged the local residents in attendance not to discount the voice of people that are using the service. \u201cEverybody is using the service in Dublin 15.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tony, from Dundrum, who did not give his surname, disagreed with the characterisation of the noise generated by the drones. He said, at a distance of 15 metres from the ground, \u201cIf it was quiet, you\u2019d have no problem flying it in here,\u201d pointing at the ceiling.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d know all about it if it was flying over our heads in here,\u201d he said, and called on Mr Healy to ensure that the noise report requested by the business was done by an independent party.<\/p>\n

Cian White, a young local resident, stood in support of the introduction of the service.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see Manna as an interesting tech company going up against the likes of Google and Amazon creating cool new jobs in our area,\u201d he said, decrying the use of objections in the planning system to stop developments in the area.<\/p>\n

He described the room as being \u201c65 plus\u201d and noted that his generation were more supportive of the technology. <\/p>\n

Seamus Doyle, a resident of Dublin 15 \u2013 who lives in the area where the delivery operation has been running \u2013 highlighted the impact the drones have had on him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did have a back garden,\u201d he said, noting that the peace he once had in his garden \u201cis now gone\u201d and lost to the \u201cdrones above your head.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Doyle said drone flights have been introduced in a \u201cwild west\u201d, welcoming the introduction of the newly published framework for drones.<\/p>\n

\"SeamusSeamus Doyle was among the local residents in south Dublin addressed by Irish drone delivery company, Manna. Photograph: Hugh Dooley \/\/ The Irish Times. <\/p>\n

Monsignor Paul Callan of the Holy Cross Parish, raised concerns about the location of the drone delivery site planned for Dundrum describing it as in \u201ccomplete contrast to the nature of the church\u201d. For users of the church, he said the noise would be a constant.<\/p>\n

Reverend Nigel Pierpoint, Rector of the Taney Parish Dundrum, is also concerned: \u201cWhen you are dealing with a family, particularly on the day of a funeral, you could hear drones flying overhead. It is a difficult day as it is without this added complication.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Manna said it would refrain from operating during the hours of funerals, Reverend Pierpoint said having to contact the company for every funeral is \u201cnot really practical\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are dealing with families in very distressed states and that is where your focus is, it is not on \u2018Oh I must remember to ring the drone company\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n

He said the concern was shared by other churches in the area.<\/p>\n

Speaking to The Irish Times following the event, Mr Healy said the reception at the event was \u201cperfectly normal\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt stems from a lack of information available and the perception of a lack of regulation,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe vast majority of people don\u2019t object to us, they\u2019re in favour of business, but there is a small minority that is really against it and you heard them here tonight\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There wasn\u2019t a pub big enough in south Dublin to fit the number of locals interested in giving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13165,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[9,10,7927,18,13,14,4771,6,19,17,12356,11,12,15,16,11171,5,7,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-13164","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-dun-laoghaire-rathdown-county-council","11":"tag-eire","12":"tag-featured-news","13":"tag-featurednews","14":"tag-fianna-fail","15":"tag-headlines","16":"tag-ie","17":"tag-ireland","18":"tag-irish-aviation-authority","19":"tag-latest-news","20":"tag-latestnews","21":"tag-main-news","22":"tag-mainnews","23":"tag-manna","24":"tag-news","25":"tag-top-stories","26":"tag-topstories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13164"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13164\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}