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Dublin Airport (Passenger Capacity) Bill 2026 for the consideration of the House. The main purpose of this Bill is to address the passenger cap planning condition at Dublin Airport. The importance of addressing the passenger cap and its effects on Dublin Airport is recognised clearly in the programme … Government, which includes a clear commitment to work with stakeholders to achieve the objective of lifting the passenger cap at Dublin Airport as soon as possible. I have met with a wide variety of stakeholders over the past 18 months, including local residents, airlines, business groups and industry

line, is subject to significant challenge and is reflective of a real looseness within this legislation. Regardless of one's position on the passenger cap, and I live in and represent a constituency that is not far from the airport, many people understand that … legislation would be a good opportunity to address some of those concerns. Instead, it looks like the Government wants to quickly lift the passenger cap, give significant powers to the Minister and march on regardless, paying no attention to flight paths that were never intended or provided

aviation strategy is essential. As Ireland's primary international gateway and a critical piece of infrastructure, Dublin Airport is fundamental. Right now, the passenger cap is being constrained by a rule that no longer makes sense. The cap is outdated and out of step with reality. Some … rounding error; it is proof that something has not been working. We in Sinn Féin believe the Dublin Airport passenger cap should be lifted but we are not here just to rubberstamp the legislation. While the cap must be lifted in order that we allow for progress, that

Minister knows, Ireland is an island and, therefore, its connectivity to the rest of the world is essential. The passenger cap at Dublin Airport is simply not working. In 2025, the cap was exceeded by around 4 million. Not only is it not working, it is not being … adhered to. The Government must be mindful that any increase in the passenger cap at Dublin Airport will put pressure on existing services. As was said already, Dublin Airport is an important employer. I was contacted recently by a pilot from my area about car parking issues

connectivity" to ensure that the Minister does not have free rein to cite international connectivity as a reason to get rid of the passenger cap and that there are some guardrails for citing this reason. Section 25 sets out the grounds on which the Minister can decide … jobs and there could be no question that we need a proper aviation strategy. Dublin Airport is fundamental to that, but the passenger cap has been outgrown and is really out of step with reality. Last year, there were 36 million passengers through Dublin Airport when, as everyone

rest of the summer - and when the world is literally burning, it is the Minister is coming in today to lift the passenger cap on flights at Dublin Airport. People are saying that we need this for growth. We need to do something about the climate emergency … really against balanced regional development. I am shocked that some of those who complain about Dublin getting everything are okay with lifting the passenger cap on Dublin Airport. Currently, Dublin gets ten times more passengers than Cork. Dublin is the capital city but it does not have

under previous leadership, has actively polluted its relationship with Fingal County Council. The planning application DAA put in in 2023 to raise the passenger cap was one of the largest planning applications ever submitted to Fingal County Council. The application was declared invalid by Fingal County Council, which … Bill: "You are anti-growth." We are not anti-growth. We are pro-climate, yes, but we are also pro-good planning. This passenger cap was brought in as a condition of the north runway through the planning system and it should have been dealt with and tackled

through to ensure continuity of its ever-increasing gas demands. We will keep hearing an economic argument from the Government on removing the passenger cap, and I will come back to that, but we need to be honest about what this Bill will do. Scrapping the passenger cap … prevent harm from greenhouse gas emissions, including, expressly, emissions from fossil fuel consumption, which includes aviation fuel. A legal analysis of the passenger cap removal commissioned by Opportunity Green and prepared by barrister Tim Johnston of Brick Court Chambers sets out plainly that Ireland, already behind

hours, that is neither listening nor a genuine effort to help. My amendment is intended to allow a future Minister to amend the passenger cap for pro-climate reasons. The Bill currently allows the Minister to intervene where the passenger cap is judged to cause serious economic … consider climate or environmental considerations in the same way as economic interests. The question of how we deal with the 32 million passenger cap, which was put in as a planning condition initially, is of course central to what we are looking at here. Everybody recognises that flying

island with a dispersed population, connectivity is crucial to our continued economic development. To continue this development it is necessary to lift the passenger cap in Dublin Airport while also focusing on delivering balanced regional aviation growth. That is something I suggest this Government and its predecessor have … failed to do. Last year, Dublin Airport exceeded the passenger cap by more than 4 million passengers. The 32 million passenger cap must now be removed. If not, and due to legal challenges, there is a danger that the Irish Aviation Authority could be forced into enforcing this

This legislation on the passenger cap must strike the right balance between ensuring our island's connectivity while also acknowledging the experiences and voices of local residents who live close to the airport. The €32 million annual passenger cap has been in place for many years now. However … give to the Minister. We will be submitting a number of amendments across the many sections of this Bill. While lifting the passenger cap for Dublin Airport is critical to our island's connectivity, the Government must place just as much energy into developing our regional airports. Airports

investment. There is no point in pretending otherwise. If connectivity suffers, the national economy suffers and we are where we are. The current passenger cap of 32 million put in place under very different circumstances is now widely seen as a constraint. Businesses are saying it. The tourism … proposes to give the Minister sweeping powers to override existing planning conditions, effectively allowing a single political officeholder to amend or remove the passenger cap even while the processes are ongoing elsewhere. That is a very serious step. It represents a significant shift away from our established planning

more cardiovascular issues in affected areas and those statistics are backed up internationally. We do not know what impact the lifting of the cap will have specifically on night flights but it will mean many more flights and much more noise for those impacted … democratic. As I said, airport noise in the Fingal area leads to a huge number of health issues and the lifting of the passenger cap will make that situation worse. The Minister is from one of the impacted areas. The lifting of a passenger cap in any airport

supposed to reduce our 2018 emissions level by 50%, the Minister has already announced that we are far off track. Raising the passenger cap by just 8 million is likely to increase flight emissions by about 24%. Yet, the Minister has indicated in remarks he has made over … billion and €26 billion. The removal of the obligation to adhere to section 15 of the climate action Act in relation to the passenger cap does not remove the Government's wider obligations under national law, international law or, indeed, under the European Convention on Human Rights

Dublin and the Dublin-centric nature of the Government is crippling Dublin. It is incredible to think of this conversation on the passenger cap and all of the difficulties that are arising as a result, while regional airports are crying out for funding and have the capacity … people using Dublin Airport land at the airport and then travel west. The Minister's answer to that is to increase the passenger cap. Would it not make more sense for spatial development and to people's lives if we were to alleviate the difficulties in regional airports

Their disapplication removes that layer of scrutiny entirely and channels decision-making exclusively to the Minister. We saw a similar arrangement in the passenger cap Bill earlier this week. It is true An Coimisiún Pleanála has to carry out an environmental impact assessment and an appropriate assessment which … bespoke planning route unavailable to other projects and certainly not ones that would benefit us from a climate and decarbonisation perspective. Like the passenger cap Bill, this is a significant departure from normal planning practice. It is a departure several stakeholders raised concerns about during pre-legislative scrutiny

people behind in Donabate. I am sure the Minister will be concerned about that. I welcome the steps being taken to remove the passenger cap at Dublin Airport. We are an island nation. We depend on connectivity. A cap on our capital city's airport, as the Minister … concern in relation to how the Bill is drafted. As it stands, it allows the DAA to apply to amend or revoke the passenger cap but it does not require that application to include concrete proposals on traffic mitigation, noise reduction, insulation, buyouts or any meaningful engagement with

addressed. Brexit demonstrated how important trade into and out of this island is. Dublin Airport has long been operating over capacity. The passenger cap is not fit for purpose and was never adhered to. In 2019, 2023, 2024 and 2025, the DAA knowingly ignored and exceeded the cap … Last year alone, the cap was exceeded by over four million passengers. As this Bill is very light on detail, Sinn Féin will be tabling amendments to address this. We will propose amendments to mandate the Government to update our national aviation policy, ensure balanced regional development

glad to have the opportunity to speak on this Bill. The imposition of a passenger cap was ludicrous and never worked. It is quite unique in world aviation. The removal of it was always inevitable. On the eve of the last general election, I remember the main party … foundation or without laying a new concrete block, Shannon Airport has current capacity, without any changing of configurations, to double its passenger intake. Yet, this cap will allow Dublin to grow. It could put further pressure on the airports along the western seaboard. That would be a concern

busiest year in the airport’s history, up more than 5% on the year before. Passenger numbers there have grown by 46% in the last decade. The cap is set at 32 million, so last year the airport carried more than 4 million people above the limit that … submissions, held six public hearings, and made 16 recommendations. The Bill reflects that scrutiny. The Minister’s power is confined to the passenger cap alone, an order falls away once a planning decision replaces it and the assessments are built into the process rather than bolted on after

increase year on year and a 46% increase since 2015. There were 215 days last year with more than 100,000 passengers. That equates to real, essential figures regarding tourism and employment opportunities. The 1.7 million transfers show us that Dublin can be and is a gateway … Head 5 should be amended to ensure that the Minister's power to revoke or amend planning conditions is limited solely to the passenger cap condition." As the Minister will be very aware from his former role as Minister for housing and local government, we need a wider

frequently and over longer distances than their European counterparts, with air travel per capita almost double the European average. For that reason, the passenger cap constrained our ability in this country to meet clear and growing demand and its removal is a welcome and necessary step. Dublin Airport

importance of other regional airports. He said that airlines simply do not want to use the other airports and that is why the passenger cap needs to go. In that context, I reiterate the point I made in my initial contribution. This is legislation and the policy behind

evening as we burn up our climate targets, the other two being much more obvious, namely, the Bills on LNG and the passenger cap in Dublin Airport. However, this is also part of it. As regards the section we are dealing with here, the fundamental problem that some

event. The Minister referenced the programme for Government including "a clear commitment to work with stakeholders to achieve the objective of lifting the passenger cap". Will he outline, in terms of the residents, how that commitment will be achieved? He also told us that what he is presenting

comprehensive independent assessment of the environmental and climate implications of removing the cap as recommended by the Oireachtas Committee on Transport in section 2.1 (3) of the pre-legislative scrutiny report on the (Passenger Capacity) Bill 2026 and as asserted as being lacking earlier this year