They became one of the Christmas present sensations of 2016, they are being promoted by the likes of Amazon as a cheap and efficient method of delivering parcels, and in media, the options they give to photographers and filmmakers are almost limitless.
In the medical profession, drones were used to deliver small aid packages after the 2012 earthquake in Haiti. They have even been promoted as an effective way to deliver urgent medical products, like antivenin for snake bites, medication, defibrillators and haemostatic supplies to people injured in accidents and shootings.
But drones are not without their critics, some of whom voiced their concerns on Liveline this afternoon. Amongst them, Robert O’Shea, a farmer and chairman of “Save Our Local Communities/Victims of Crime”, in Tipperary, who has serious reservations about their use.
“In themselves, they are innocent. But in some cases, the usage of them is to case out places. I can understand how private people are worried about these drones flying over their property… If you go home tonight and you find someone in your back garden, you’re not going to be too impressed. The drone is the very same thing, flying overhead. It can see everything in your garden.”
The debate started when the program was contacted by Christine Fitzsimons, a drone enthusiast, who recently received a letter from the National Monument Service, a section of the Office of Public Works, instructing her to stop filming above national monument sites.
The OPW, through the National Monument Service, controls not just the grounds of national monuments, but the air above them. However, according to Christina, she goes nowhere near the actual monuments themselves, just hovering over, taking pictures, filming with the camera on her drone.
“I am outside the area. I just hover outside and around. Everyone is keen to see what’s inside the sites, but I don’t land on the stone.”
And on the specific privacy concerns voiced by Robert O’Shea, she had this to say.
“If there is a house, I would always knock on the house and say I have a drone. I am not going to be casing your house because I do not want to be invading your privacy. In most cases, there no houses around where I fly.”
Christina uploads her videos onto a YouTube site called Drone Girl, and in many cases gives copies of her videos to the owners of some of the properties featured in her videos. This is strictly a hobby, she says, as she makes no money from it, but would love one day to sell some of her work to, for example, Fáilte Ireland. But in the letter she received recently, the National Monument Service has told her that, unless she stops filming their monuments, they may report her to the Irish Aviation Authority. They have, in effect, banned her from filming nearly 800 sites around Ireland.
Marie, from Clare, another caller to the show, was not convinced.
“I think it sounds like a spying machine…. You can see what people’s properties have. I think really and truly there should be a campaign to ban this thing. If people want to look at scenery, we have some fantastic television programmes, fantastic books. There are other ways to see scenery. Go on a holiday!
But, according to Joe, all kinds of activities are regulated, including aircraft activities of all types, and every type of transport you can imagine. “Cars can be used for nefarious purposes. Are you saying we should ban all cars?” asked the presenter.
To listen to the full debate, click here.