252. Deputy Gillian Toole asked the Minister for Transport whether he agrees with the position, stated by the managing director of Dublin Airport (a DAA plc employee) to the Joint Committee on Transport on 24 March 2026, that ‘there is no such thing as planning permission for flight paths’; whether he considers that position consistent with Council Directive 2011/92/EU on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (details supplied); if he does not agree with DAA's position, to state on the basis his Department has continued to rely on DAA's position in its dealings with the Oireachtas and in the preparation of the Dublin Airport (Passenger Capacity) Bill 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31827/26]

I thank the Deputy for the detailed questions and welcome the opportunity to provide clarity regarding these important issues.

Firstly, with regard to whether I agree “with the position, stated by the Managing Director of Dublin Airport (a daa plc employee) to the Joint Committee on Transport on 24 March 2026, that there is no such thing as planning permission for flight paths”, I would like to clarify from the outset that flight paths are not a condition of planning at Dublin airport.

As a Contracting State to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and a member state of the European Union (EU), Ireland complies with ICAO standards and EU legislation regarding civil aviation. Under EU legislation, the operator of an airport is responsible for the design and maintenance of Instrument Flight Procedures (IFPs) which set flight paths into and out of an airport. The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), as the civil aviation safety regulator in Ireland, has responsibility for ensuring that IFPs adhere to safety standards set out in national, EU and international regulations.

Flight paths are also monitored for compliance with noise requirements by the Aircraft Noise Competent Authority (ANCA).

Separately, monitoring compliance with planning permission conditions is matter for the relevant Council that granted those permissions, and enforcement of planning conditions is a matter for the relevant planning authorities.

Regarding whether I consider “that position consistent with Council Directive 2011/92/EU on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, in particular Article 2(1) which requires that projects likely to have significant environmental effects be made subject to assessment before development consent is granted,” I can confirm the project at Dublin Airport was subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment.

With regard to the Deputy’s specific queries in relation to An Bord Pleanála's decision of 23 August 2007 and the process followed in reaching this decision, this is a matter for An Coimisiún Pleanála (ACP) rather than my Department.

Concerning whether I consider “daa's position defensible in the context of the European Commission complaint CPLT(2026)00881, registered on 12 March 2026 under the lead of the Directorate-General for Environment, which alleges breach of the EIA Directive on the basis that the Routes Flown have not been assessed;”, as you will be aware, on the 17th of July 2025, ACP, in its role as the Appeals Body for Aircraft Noise Regulation (per Section 10 of the Aircraft Noise (Dublin Airport) Regulation Act 2019), published its Decision in relation to night-time air traffic operations at Dublin Airport. This decision included, amongst other conditions, a restriction on flights on the new north runway between midnight and 6am except in exceptional specified circumstances.

On the 8th of August 2025, ACP notified the EU Commission of the operating restrictions set out in its July 2025 decision, as required under Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 598/2014, and the EU Commission subsequently undertook an assessment of the process followed by ACP in its decision.

On the 10th of February 2026, following completion of its assessment, the EU Commission issued a notification advising that the process used by ACP for the proposed introduction of operating restrictions at Dublin Airport did not fully follow the Balanced Approach process, as set out in Regulation (EU) 598/2014.

The Balanced Approach involves consideration of a range of measures, such as reduction of noise at source, effective land-use planning and management, and noise abatement operational procedures, before implementing any noise-related operating restrictions at an airport.

In line with the provisions of Regulation (EU) 598/2014 and the Aircraft Noise (Dublin Airport) Regulation Act 2019, as the independent competent authority for this matter on appeal, ACP will now have to examine this Decision and to determine the most appropriate next steps.

Given that this is currently an open case with ACP, it would be inappropriate to comment further on the matter at this time.