Dublin MEP Ciarán Cuffe has called for Fingal County Council to reject Dublin Airport Authority’s planning application to increase airport capacity from 32 million to 40 million passengers per annum and the associated project elements. Cuffe said the plan would create an “intolerable increase in noise exposure for Dublin residents”, as well as a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions. 

MEP Cuffe said:

“This plan is a bald-faced attempt to upend everything that we know is true about increasing the passenger cap: more planes will create emissions, and more planes will make more noise. Those are the facts: plain and simple. The County Council has a responsibility to protect residents and to consider the environmental impact of such plans. The Council cannot approve a plan in such clear contradiction of government policy to achieve significant emission reductions before 2030. 

“Never have I seen a state body show such disregard for the communities impacted by their plans. The people of north Dublin deserve a good night’s sleep as much as anyone else. This application makes no plans to reduce the noise or emissions impact of a cap increase. 

“While other sectors are implementing significant and difficult changes to help reach our climate goals, one of the most polluting sectors is demanding a significant expansion. There cannot be one rule for the daa, and another for every other sector. This plan is utterly divorced from reality and must be rejected.”

The application submitted by the daa estimates a 24% increase in emissions from aviation as a result of increasing the passenger cap. In his submission to the County Council, MEP Cuffe highlighted the Council’s stated commitments to ensuring that growth in passenger numbers at Dublin Airport is considered in the context of the need to reduce carbon emissions and that Airport growth must be consistent with the principles of sustainable development and public health, under the Council’s respective Local Area and Climate Change Actions plans.