The director-general of the British-Irish Chamber of Commerce said the recent illegal drone activity at Dublin Airport was extremely serious and the time needed to resolve it was “deeply alarming”.
Speaking to Colm Ó Mongáin on RTÉ on Saturday, John McGrane underlined the importance of a reliable air route to and from Ireland for trade.
“This isn’t a matter of some modest inconvenience to people….. this is much more about how this appears to our trading partners and our relationships in business that employ so many people on this island and beyond,” he said, reports RTE.
Yesterday, Transport Minister Eamon Ryan met with airport operators and other state agencies following another drone disruption Thursday night.
The minister said it would take weeks for anti-drone technology to be operational at the airport.
Mr McGrane said the reality is that businessmen see it as a serious act of pre-planned criminal activity and are surprised it is not seen in “exactly those terms”.
“It is clear we don’t have the apparatus of government and the inter-departmental connections to get something as serious as this resolved as fast as it needs to be done,” he added, reports RTE.
Wexford Independent TD Verona Murphy said she was concerned that the drone disruption at the airport was not being treated as an emergency and there did not appear to be an urgency to introduce legislation.
Ms Murphy said she is not trying to dramatize the issue, but said illegal drone activity is a threat to national security.
“We need to look at a destruction policy as a matter of urgency and bring forward emergency legislation,” she said, reports RTE.
Also speaking to RTÉ on Saturday with Colm Ó Mongáin, Minister of State Joe O’Brien said the Department for Transport was evaluating the various anti-drone technologies available.
Green Party TD for Dublin Fingal defended the government’s response, saying the process of tackling illegal drone activity started when the first incident occurred.
“We have to do it properly but the process did start when this issue initially arose,” Mr O’Brien said, reports RTE.
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