Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has called for the Dublin Airport passenger cap to be removed before St Patrick’s Day "rather than delaying another 12 months".
When enacted, the Dublin Airport Passenger Capacity Bill will allow the Minister for Transport to amend or revoke the existing cap of 32 million passengers and to preclude any future cap being introduced.
Mr O’Leary said the Government promised to scrap the cap "as soon as possible" and he said the end of 2026 is two years after the promise was first made.
"That is not quick enough," he added.
Mr O'Leary said it is "time to scrap the cap before St Patrick’s Day, which would then allow Ryanair and the American airlines to continue to invest in and grow traffic, tourism and jobs at Dublin Airport".
Ibec has called for the legislation to be passed by the summer.
The business group welcomed the approval and publication of the bill.
Ibec’s Head of Infrastructure and Environmental Sustainability Aidan Sweeney said the approach taken by the Government "highlights the urgency and seriousness of the matter in removing a poorly conceived planning restriction".
He said the cap was introduced by the planning authorities almost two decades ago and "if left in place would cause significant damage to our international reputation, travel, trade and the experience economy".
Mr Sweeney added that "speed is required to ensure the legislation is passed by the summer to provide long-term certainty for a country so reliant on air access for trade and tourism".
"Our airport infrastructure needs to be capable of handling future demand to realise our economic and connectivity growth potential without unduly restrictive passenger caps, which will also require prompt approval of the airports Infrastructure Application by the planning authorities."
The Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) said lifting the Dublin Airport passenger cap will provide "a good opportunity for airlines to expand services into Ireland".
ITAA CEO Clare Dunne said the decision will also provide opportunities for new connectivity from airlines who are not yet flying into Ireland.
"This in turn provides new destinations for both holidays makers and business travellers."
Ms Dunne said ITAA looks forward to seeing the proposal enacted "as soon as possible".
Campaign group 'outraged' at move to end passenger cap
A children's rights group said it is "outraged" at the decision by Cabinet to approve the drafting of legislation to end the passenger cap.
The group Children’s Rights Over Flights said abolishing the passenger cap is "reckless and irresponsible", referencing record levels of aviation fossil fuels being produced and the fact that Ireland is "hugely off track on meeting 2030 emissions reductions targets".
It said it constitutes a betrayal of obligations to protect the rights and welfare of children and future generations, because it wilfully enables masses more aviation pollution to be produced, when rapid and effective emissions reductions are essential to limit climate harms.
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Celestine O’Reilly of Children’s Rights Over Flights, said the passenger cap is "a pretty crude instrument to limit aviation emissions".
She said that while it does not address freight emissions it acts as "a guardrail until the Government gets its act together and puts a strong aviation policy in place".
"I’d urge anyone who understands the gravity of what’s facing our kids and grandkids, to tell their elected representatives that we must keep the current passenger cap - at least until there’s an alternative plan for aviation to contribute fairly to climate action."
Speaking earlier, Minister for Transport Darragh O'Brien said a piece of national infrastructure as critical as Dublin Airport should not sit within the planning authority of Fingal County Council.
He said a balanced approach has been taken in relation to the legislation and residents in the vicinity of the airport have been to the forefront of his mind.
Minister O'Brien said the airport is "a critical employer. It's a critical piece of infrastructure, for connectivity, obviously, for foreign direct investment. And we can't have a situation whereby there is a false inhibitor to growth in place anymore."
Minister for Tourism Peter Burke said the removal of the passenger cap at Dublin airport is a very important tenet of the tourism strategy.
He said lifting the cap will be a "key strategic piece for our country in improving our infrastructure".
Legislation ending cap expected to be enacted this year
The passenger cap at Dublin Airport is a long-running row with concerns vocalised regularly on both sides of the dispute.
The cap was first introduced as a condition of planning when Terminal 2 was granted planning permission in 2007.
That year 23 million passengers used the airport and since then, passenger numbers have grown strongly and already exceed the 32 million cap.
The cap is currently not being implemented as the High Court has referred legal challenges to it, taken by a number of airlines, to the European courts.
Removing the passenger cap is one of the commitments contained in the Programme for Government agreed between coalition members.
The minister expects the legislation ending the passenger cap to be enacted this year.
The legislation is going ahead even though airport operator daa's own infrastructure application, which is with planning authorities in Fingal County Council, suggests a passenger cap of 40 million.
However, the application is also for new aircraft stands, expanded airport aprons, improved airport access and car parking and other structural changes so there is no plan to withdraw it at this point.
Read more:
Passenger numbers at Dublin Airport jump by 14% in January
Record 36.4m passengers travelled through Dublin Airport last year
The number of passengers who passed through Dublin Airport last month increased by 14% compared to the same month last year, according to airport operator.
Approximately 2.48 million people travelled through the two terminal buildings, representing the highest figure ever recorded in the month of January.
It was also the tenth consecutive month that Dublin Airport recorded growth in passenger numbers.
A record 36.4 million passengers travelled through Dublin Airport last year, a 5.1% increase in the number of people who passed through the two terminals in 2024.
The Taoiseach has described bringing of the legislation to remove the passenger cap as "a significant moment".
Airport operator welcomes decision
Dublin Airport operator daa said it "strongly welcomes the decisive action being taken by Government to resolve the cap issue once and for all.
It said the "outdated cap" was "artificially restricting growth at Dublin Airport".
"As a small island nation, global connectivity is crucial to our economic prosperity and to sustain jobs and investment across the country.
"Standing still as our population grows and other cities and countries compete to draw flights and destinations away from Dublin would be an own goal."
Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman said a passenger cap is the wrong metric to regulate Dublin Airport and he has instead called for a regulatory structure to be put in place to evaluate noise pollution and carbon emissions.
He said the passenger cap was a planning requirement around the capacity of the roads around the airport in order to meet the needs of people travelling to and from the airport.
"We need a regulatory structure that actually looks at the amount of noise being generated at the airport and the amount of pollution generated at the airport. That's the metric that I think is important, and I think that's a metric that we need to put in place in respect of the airport," he said.
Labour TD Conor Sheehan said it was wrong that the Minister would become the planning authority.
"This is a planning matter. It should be left to the planning authorities. Where are the emission reductions savings going to come from in relation to reducing our carbon emissions. We know aviation accounts for so much of that," he added.
US lobby group Airlines for America (A4A) has called for a "swift adoption" of the draft legislation.
In a statement, a spokesperson said: "We welcome the Irish Government's initiative to address the Dublin Airport passenger cap and the Cabinet's agreement to prioritise legislation to resolve this issue".
A4A represents both passenger and cargo carriers, including Delta, American Airlines, United, JetBlue and Air Canada, as well as FedEx and UPS.
It described Dublin Airport as "a vital gateway for transatlantic travel and trade" and it said the continued application of the passenger cap is "in violation of the basic requirements of the US-EU Open Skies Agreement".
Meanwhile, a resident living close to Dublin Airport said she is "pretty devastated" at the decision.
Dr Niamh Maher, who is a member of the St Margaret's The Ward Residents Group, said her disappointment is "not just to do with raising the cap, it's the environmental effect, the noise effects that are already occurring in real time to residents that are affected by flight paths in north county Dublin and in east Meath".
Dr Maher said aircraft noise has "a real effect [on health] particularly nighttime noise" and she said that point "needs to be taken into consideration".
"There needs to be appropriate investment in actually protecting people's health, because at the end of the day, we are the ones that are suffering," she said.
The daa Director of Communications. Sarah Ryan, said the Minister for Transport "has been very clear that all plans will have the appropriate environmental assessments" and that the local community is a consideration.
Ms Ryan said the Dublin Airport operator takes its responsibilities to the local community "very seriously".
Additional reporting by Sandra Hurley, Joe Mag Raollaigh
