Data is main hurdle blocking vital planning application to allow the airport expand
‘Elbows-out’ DAA CEO Kenny Jacobs
Dublin Airport. Photo: Getty
Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien. Photo: Collins
DAA expects to provide information “later this month” to airport noise regulator ANCA about its application to expand airport capacity to 40 million passengers per annum
The required data on aircraft noise is the main hurdle blocking the granting by Fingal of the vital planning application to allow the airport expand.
But that long-awaited breakthrough on airport planning comes against the backdrop of what sources have described as the “distraction” of a three-sided standoff between the DAA board, its CEO Kenny Jacobs and Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien.
Dublin Airport. Photo: Getty
Jacobs’ “elbows-out” style with staff and what one source described as “a Punch and Judy show” with the local authority in the press is believed to have led to a row at board level and a €1m severance deal less than three years into a seven-year term.
That deal is currently sitting on Mr O’Brien’s desk awaiting sign-off but he has urged both two sides to reconcile. However, the board has indicated that its position on Jacobs’ departure has not changed, according to reports.
Asked whether the DAA board, chairman or CEO were concerned about any potential impact on DAA leadership’s focus on planning matters, a spokeswoman referred to a previous statement that said “Kenny, the executive team, and board are fully aligned in the focus on business-as-usual matters.”
DAA seems to be in a state of flux and changeover and it needs certainty to plan for the future
Mayor of Fingal Tom O’Leary, a Fine Gael councillor, said he was “very anxious to see the issues around Dublin Airport move on to allow it to continue to serve Ireland and its needs into the future”.
“DAA seems to be in a state of flux and changeover and it needs certainty to plan for the future along with its chief executive, either the current one or a new one. But we need decisions and we need to move forward, all together in unison.”
In a briefing to Dublin Chamber last week, Fingal CEO AnnMarie Farrelly pointed out that both the Dublin Airport Local Area Plan and the Fingal County Development Plan provide the planning framework for the growth of the airport to 40 million passengers.
Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien. Photo: Collins
A Fingal spokesman said ANCA had requested the information it required “in March 2024, and it is understood it will be supplied in the coming weeks”.
“Once received it will allow the noise assessment to progress and will ultimately facilitate a planning decision,” he said.