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LAST UPDATE | 9 Jul
THE OPERATOR OF a drone delivery company in Dublin has accepted that the noise from the non-piloted devices can be loud, and has no objection to reducing the noise, but maintained that the sound is not overly loud.
Irish firm Manna began operating in Ireland last year and provides a drone delivery service for food, beverages and other items to residents in Dublin 15. The unmanned devices fly to an Eircode provided by customers and deliver good on a string.
Locals, as first reported by The Journal last year, are concerned over the noise levels from the drones.
Addressing the issue today, CEO of Manna Bobby Healy told the Oireachtas Transport Committee that thousands of customers have used the service in the year that it has launched.
Dublin West TDs, who represent the areas Blanchardstown, Clonsilla and Castleknock where the drones operate, used the opportunity to ask Healy if he intends to expand the services and how Manna will address the noise.
Manna’s drones, according to the company, are quieter than a conversation or dishwasher when operating from 60 metres in the air. Healy said that he commissioned research from Trinity College to determine the sound levels as safe.
Many TDs, including Sinn Féin’s Paul Donnelly, People Before Profit’s Ruth Coppinger, Green Party’s Roderic O’Gorman and Fine Gael’s Emer Currie, said that residents are very aware of the sound of the drones in Dublin 15.
Donnelly and Coppinger both said they regularly hear the drones from their back gardens, while O’Gorman said he lives next to one of the company’s depots in Blanchardstown.
Healy said that he and Manna are extremely aware of the noise complaints and seek to make modifications to the propellers and overall weight of the drones to reduce the sound.
Manna has also applied to fly up to 80m into the sky, which Healy claims will further reduce the sound of the drones. However, the firm’s boss maintained that the devices are as quiet as they can be and could go unnoticed when flying at regulated height.
The firm must seek approval to fly higher in the sky, and to use the airspace for commercial purposes, from the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA). Jim Gavin, the regulator’s boss, said that over 23,000 people are currently registered ‘remote pilots’ of drones.
He told O’Gorman that the IAA will soon approve Manna’s request to make modifications to the propeller size and drone weight.
“It’s quite a complex regulatory process, as you can imagine,” Gavin said. “We would expect, I think, in the short-term to see movement on that particular application.”
Gavin added that he could not quantify the length of time that the IAA will be need to approve the application as, under regulatory requirements, certain evidence should be provided to justify and accept the new modifications.
Sinn Féin’s Donnelly asked Manna boss Healy to detail what residents should expect from the company in the future, and whether more drones will be in the sky.
Healy explained that the company currently operates six drones in Blanchardstown, but is only regulated to fly four at one time. The Journal saw Manna’s Dublin 15 facility in March of last year, where employees place food into a fitted container on the device.
Healy said that Manna is seeking to expand further into the US and other European markets, describing the Irish landscape as “limited”. He estimated at, at its peak, the firm may have 100 drones operating in 26 counties, before shifting it focus to foreign markets.
Manna has also recently moved to expand its delivery service to Dundrum, pending approval of its application. Asked by Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon about a reported move into the Dublin central, Healy said there are no short-term plans to do so.
The IAA told politicians that drones are already regularly used in Ireland for building inspections and surveys, photography, and deliveries. Dublin City Council also uses drones for Survey & Mapping Division, Dublin Fire Brigade and the Civil Defence.
The committee will also heard from researchers from Maynooth University and the University of Limerick. Gerard Dooly, Associate Professor at UL’s School of Engineering, said the meeting “comes at a time when public awareness of drones is rapidly growing”.
“Recent developments have sparked debate, particularly regarding the frequency and noise of drone-delivery operations,” he will say.
He and Professor Tim McCarthy from Maynooth University highlighted the need for a greater emphasis to be placed on the delivery of uniform and compliant public policy around the operation of drones.
With reporting by Lauren Boland
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