A second runway at Dublin Airport is given the go-ahead again to meet rising passenger numbers.
Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) has confirmed the plans to construct a new runway at Dublin Airport, with work starting in 2017.
The airport received planning permission in 2007 to build the runway, but the plan was put on hold due to the recession and a fall in passenger numbers. Numbers are up, and in 2015 Dublin Airport had a record 25 million passengers.
The existing runway is now at capacity. Chief executive of the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) Kevin Toland insists the second runway is needed to enable growth and provide passengers with,
More choice, more variety, more frequency.
The new €320 million runway will be 3 kilometres long and built 1.5 kilometres north of the existing main runway. It is expected to be completed in 2020.
Business and tourism groups have welcomed the news. Ian Talbot of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce believes the development will sustain the future economic development of Ireland.
It's going to connect business, it will grow employment.
To facilitate access to and from Dublin Airport, Ian Talbot thinks infrastructure must be developed, particularly the M50 and Metro North.
Some residents living near the airport have expressed concerns. For years, residents of Portmarnock have opposed the second runway, specifically over noise pollution. Chairperson of the Portmarnock Community Association, Pat Suttle notes that already planes fly over every three minutes and in future it will be more intense.
Its just a disruption to peoples lives you have periods of silence then you have periods of high noise.
The Green Party has also expressed concern about noise exposure, greenhouse gas emissions and the wider environmental and local impacts.
More meetings between the DAA and locals are planned.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 7 April 2016. The reporter is Conor Hunt.
