In an escalation of the restrictions on Dublin airport passenger numbers, currently the subject of a European court case, Fingal County Council issued an enforcement notice to daa for exceeding the 32m passenger cap at Dublin Airport in 2023 and 2024.
Fingal council claims the notice allows daa two years to comply with 2008 planning conditions set by An Bord Pleanála for Terminal 2 and Terminal 1 expansion.
A formal investigation by Fingal’s Planning Authority followed complaints, leading to a warning letter and the enforcement action.
Daa’s spokesperson described the Irish planning system as broken, arguing the passenger cap hampers Dublin Airport’s role as critical transport infrastructure.
Fingal’s full written statement shared: Fingal County Council has issued an Enforcement Notice to daa that includes a two-year period to comply with planning conditions imposed by An Bord Pleanála concerning passenger capacity at Dublin Airport. The two-year period provides an opportunity for daa to progress their planning applications to increase passenger capacity at Dublin Airport or take such other steps as they consider appropriate to achieve compliance.”
The conditions were attached to planning permissions granted in 2008 for the construction of Terminal 2 and the extension of Terminal 1 and clearly stated that the combined capacity of both terminals must not exceed 32 million passengers per annum.
In response to complaints received that the conditions were breached in 2023 and 2024 the Planning Authority’s Enforcement Unit initiated a formal investigation to assess compliance with the conditions. A Warning Letter was issued to daa providing them with an opportunity to respond, which they did.
Fingal County Council acknowledges the operational complexities presented. However, the information submitted by daa does not constitute sufficient grounds to prevent further action. The investigation has determined that a breach of the relevant planning conditions has occurred and remains ongoing.
A daa spokesperson shared: “The fact that Fingal County Council is sending us an enforcement notice regarding 32 million passengers when passenger numbers will be north of 36 million this year and heading towards 40 million before the end of the decade is a sorry indictment of the mess that is the Irish planning system, particularly when it comes to the most vital piece of transport infrastructure on this island. The system is quite simply broken and needs to be overhauled urgently. Until that happens our national airport is hamstrung and can’t get on with its mandate to grow Ireland’s connectivity. The passenger cap on Dublin Airport needs to be removed once and for all and the airport needs to be reclassified as national strategic infrastructure, with decisions made by a national planning body and not a local authority.”
Kenny jacobs shared: “I don’t think Fingall needed to do this. They chose not to do it in previous years. The enforcement that they’ve served us is referring to us breaching the passenger cap in 2023. They’ve received a handful of complaints telling them they need to do their jobs in the planning authority and that job is very important. But the consequences of this are very serious. The Irish High Court has already decided this matter and the slots regulation is complex and they’ve sent it to the European Court of Justice. Fingall should have waited for that decision. They should wait for the government who have a policy of removing the cap at Dublin Airport and we understand legislation is coming in that and they should have worked with us on planning. There are other alternatives available to them to be proactive, be focused on the future, be focused on protecting jobs. “
Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary shared “It is absurd that Fingal Co Co are issuing planning enforcement notices when the illegal Dublin Airport Cap has been referred to the European Court of Justice. This illegal 2007 planning restriction is in breach of European rules on Freedom of Movement and is also in breach of the EU-US Open Skies Agreement. We are confident that the European Courts will outlaw this idiotic 18-year-old cap, but today’s Fingal enforcement notice proves conclusively that a Local County Council cannot be left in charge of national transport infrastructure. The Dublin Airport Cap featured prominently in last Nov’s General Election. The new Govt in Jan published its programme promising to scrap the Dublin Airport Cap, yet 6 months later, we have seen no action and no legislation. The time for delay and dither is over. We now call on Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, and Transport Minister, Darragh O’Brien, to implement their Govt programme and abolish this idiotic and illegal traffic cap at Dublin Airport.”
Objector Liam O’Gradaigh shared: “Daa has shown breathtaking arrogance in its response to the Fingal enforcement notice. The airport authority has been in breach of the capacity in 2023 and 2024. Now it has been given two years to comply. This is zombie enforcement. Residents living locally continue to suffer and have been exposed to harmful levels of noise.”
