Who actually wants the Dublin Airport passenger cap abolished?

People are talking about emissions concerns like only the climate is at stake. I'm not ringing that bell because I don't know anything about that really, you're probably right.

I'm just talking about money.

The government committed to a carbon target, which they're currently already missing, and if they continue to miss it or it gets worse, I presume we'll have to buy carbon credits. And by "we", I mean the taxpayer. So when we're lifting this cap, are we sure the money it will bring to the country will outweigh the cost of those credits?

To answer your question, the money brought in from lifting the cap might outweigh the carbon fines/taxes, it very much depends on how much they are going to cost us and that could be a serious issue or it might not. I don't have the figures but it is certainly worth bearing these things in mind for sure

The one thing I will say with a degree of confidence is that in paying the carbon fines to the EU it's not simply money disappearing. The EU will likely be intent on spending this windfall on carbon reduction initiatives in their member states, so the money could very well come back around anyway

Should we be spending money (including loss of revenue from removing the cap) on environmental issues? I think yes - 100%. Will it actually help the environment on its own, I'm not so sure

The fact there is spare capacity at Shannon suggests there isn’t the demand. Cork on the other hand is to be approach capacity, and plans to expand are underway.

no it hasent.

DAA are not claiming increasing the cap won’t affect anything outside the airport. The planning application literally includes upgrades to multiple roads around the airport.

Project Element 11: Junction Improvements 

a) Upgrade of junctions in the vicinity of the airport to provide additional bus priority capacity, including: (i) R132 / M1 Link Airport Roundabout

ii) R132 / Corballis Road South: o Ahead lane from Corballis Rd South to Express Red Long-Term Car Park to become ahead and right.

(iii) R132 / Old Airport Road: o Additional right turn bus lane from R132 (N) to Old Airport Road (W). o Additional left filter bus lane from Old Airport Rd (W) to R132 (N).

(iv) R108 / Old Airport Road: o Additional left turn bus lane from R108 (N) to Old Airport Road (E).

(v) Corballis Road North/Corballis Avenue: o Introduction of lane destination markings.

(vi) Corballis Road North/Recirculation Link: o Conversion of internal recirculation link to bus, taxi and Authorised Vehicles only, with link into wider bus priority measures. o Additional bus priority on Corballis Road North to link to bus priority improvements at exit from Airport Roundabout

Talking absolute pony.

Wake up call! They put the planes where they are most lucrative, LOL at the cute simplistic visions of them, using them from Cork, if Carcassone to wherever, is more lucrative! Secondly, how are the emissions different, if a flight, lands in dublin or cork? Next… Aviation accounts for 2.5 % of global co2 emissions. The concern here is comedy! Have you witnessed the round the clock m50 carpark? The dublin city car park, obscene level of emissions there versus aviation. That could be solved with technologies available decades ago… Crickets on that front… BUT AVIATION , as an island nation…You lads should hurry up and help with the development of technologies, that will make aviation, far more sustainable… Do you want a cap on the M50, Ikea? Way over its limit, unlike the airport…

https://www.iea.org/energy-system/transport/aviation

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2025/07/07/us-airlines-warn-that-aer-lingus-flights-to-us-may-be-limited-over-dublin-airport-passenger-cap/

"Airlines for America (A4A), whose members include US and Canadian carriers that fly from the US to the Republic, maintains that the passenger limit on Dublin Airport breaches European Union-North American open-skies air-travel treaties.

According to Keith Glatz, A4A’s senior vice-president of international affairs, the US could respond to the cap by limiting Irish airlines’ access to the US. Aer Lingus is the only Irish carrier offering regular scheduled transatlantic flights.

Mr Glatz explained that he was not speaking for the US government, but noted that “typically” Washington’s department of transportation can respond to an illegal breach of the treaty by limiting the number of cities to which a country’s airlines can fly."

How long do you reckon this farce would continue, if the americans limited access to the US for Aer lingus? LOL! you think fingal county council and a few thousand that chose to live beside an airport, are going to figure a damn then? the answer is no… As soon as the cap is lifted, growth is going surge, likely 40,000,000 passengers next year.

This cap has been challenged and found illegal in other EU jurisdictions, I believe they are going through the motions on it in court now or will be shortly…

To lower emissions as that is the only concern here… Maybe DAA would install free flow junctions, ya know.. What other countries, did for major infrastructure, decades ago…

There's over 50% within 1 hour 30 minutes.

You'd get closer to 100% if it was somewhere else.

Its theoretical anyway. Not when the M1/M50 is at peak dysfunction. Is taken me an hour at times and I'm only down the road from it.

right so where does the traffic from impending increased flights into DUB go?

given that nothing gets done here.

as for the assertion that a new airport is off the wall, theyre really not that big a deal as a project.

look at billund or aarhus airports. relatively tiny, lego themed billund takes 3.75 million pax p.a. its terminal is 5000 sq meters. its basically a suburban tesco in size.

waterford airport is in the news again re; investment.

On one hand I hope they lift the cap to annoy the Nimbys, while on the other I want a cap to drive more traffic the way of Cork and Shannon.

so a larger fiasco is preferable to a smaller fiasco?

you can buy off the potentially affected population of waterford for 10 grand.

the question of the cap is now off the backs of fcc and the minister for transport. go for it lads.

the question now is how they're going to handle the added traffic in europes third most congested city. (2024)

over to you lads. show us how its done.

https://www.irishtimes.com/transport/2025/01/06/dublin-ranks-as-europes-third-most-congested-city-after-london-and-paris/

Yeah. That's what I'm saying... their worried about transport and emissions? A public transport system would be a start... quicker rail link between Dublin and Cork, with one stop to the airport, if not a direct service... they need serious public transport, to start housing huge amounts of people, beside this transport network...