The Director General of the British-Irish Chamber of Commerce has said the recent illegal drone activity at Dublin Airport is extremely serious and that it is "deeply alarming" how long it is taking to address it.
Speaking on RTÉ's Saturday with Colm Ó Mongáin, John McGrane highlighted the importance of a reliable air route into and out of Ireland for trading.
"This isn't a matter of some modest inconvenience to people..... this is much more about how this appears to our trading partners and our relationships in business that employ so many people on this island and beyond," he said.
The Minister said it would be weeks before anti-drone technology will be up and running at the airport.
Mr McGrane said the reality is business people look at this as a serious act of pre-planned criminal activity and they are surprised it is not being seen in "exactly those terms".
He said a cross-departmental approach is needed to address this issue.
"It is clear we don't have the apparatus of government and the inter-departmental connections to get something as serious as this resolved as fast as it needs to be done," he added.
Social Democrats TD for Dublin North-West Róisín Shortall said it is "unbelievable" the government is only looking at dealing with the issue now when the danger drones posed was first identified in 2017.
She said since 2018 most airports have systems in place to deal with drones.
"I was certainly very taken aback a few weeks ago when this first came to attention that we weren't prepared, that we didn't have the necessary equipment, that the laws weren't in place to deal with it," Ms Shortall said.
There are three elements to a solution - the legislation, the equipment and the policing of it - she said, adding that legislation can be passed "very quickly".
Read more: Are 'drone effectors' the answer to Dublin Airport's problems?
Independent TD for Wexford Verona Murphy said she is concerned that drone disruption at the airport is not being treated as an emergency and there does not seem to be an urgency to bring forward legislation.
Ms Murphy said she is not trying to dramatise the issue but stated that illegal drone activity is a threat to national security.
"We need to look at a destruction policy as a matter of urgency and bring forward emergency legislation," she said.
Also speaking on RTÉ's Saturday with Colm Ó Mongáin, Minister of State Joe O'Brien said the Department of Transport is assessing the various anti-drone technologies available.
The Green Party TD for Dublin Fingal defended the government's response and said the process of tackling illegal drone activity began when the first incident occurred.
"We have to do it properly but the process did start when this issue initially arose," Mr O'Brien said.
He said the government is looking at other airports abroad in terms of the technology they are using to counter drones.
Mr O'Brien said urgency on this is "clear" and it is going to the "first cabinet meeting that was available".
