‘Like living near a helicopter’: Residents fed up at takeaway delivery drones buzzing over their homes

Imagine you are sitting outside on a clear day with the sun shining and a motorbike goes straight through your back garden. That is how one resident in Blanchardstown described the noise of the delivery drone service that operates in the Dublin 15 area.

The sound of the drones has been likened to a tractor or lawnmower and described as being louder than nearby cars.

“It disrupts the peace of my home,” one local woman said.

Another resident said he was unable to work from home due to the noise.

Noel Powell, an IT engineer, described it as “like living close to a helicopter”. He said he also had privacy concerns about the drones being fitted with cameras.

The service has been in operation for more than a year and has divided opinion locally. Fingal County Council says it has received 25 complaints from locals regarding the drones since January 2024 to last January, with 18 primarily about the noise.

The drone service, operated by Manna, delivers takeaways, coffee and a whole host of other items weighing 4kg or less from a base at the Junction 6 complex close to Blanchardstown Shopping Centre.

The drones – which are white with red and green flashing lights – deliver food “usually in less than three minutes” and can fly up to 16km, the firm’s website says.

They fly at an altitude of up to 70 metres and reach speeds of up to 80km/h.

The company said drone carried cameras for safety reasons, to confirm that the delivery zone is clear of obstacles. The camera activates when the drone hovers 14m above the ground upon arrival at the delivery location.

“The camera does not record, store, or transmit any data. We are fully compliant with GDPR [data protection] regulations,” a Manna spokesman said.

Manna has received just under 80 complaints and has made 170,000 deliveries in the Dublin 15 area so far, he said, saying the company has taken each complaint “seriously and responded to directly”.

Another resident, Séamus Doyle, said his biggest concern with the drones in his area was noise levels. “Even living close to a busy road, the drones are worse,” he said.

The drones no longer fly over his home after he asked the company for an overflight exclusion, but they do go over the back wall of his garden.

“Last summer, there was one every 10 minutes and they fly over and back, so about 12 an hour at its busiest,” Mr Doyle said.

He said the drones were louder than his neighbour’s petrol lawnmower. “I’ve a feeling Dublin 15 could survive without drones,” he said.

Ann-Marie, who did not wish to give her full name, first found out the service was in her area when a drone went over her home for the first time.

“It was a shock. I didn’t know what it was when it first went past,” she said.

Like Mr Doyle, she told the company she did not want the drones flying over her house.

Noise is one of the biggest concerns for her.

“I’m surprised at how loud they are: they’re louder than cars near our house. It has a real impact on people,” she said.

“Maybe if it was delivering blood transfusions or medicine, but it’s takeaways. It’s interesting technology that could be used for social good, but it’s for delivering takeaways.”

On that issue, a Manna spokesman said the company was running trials “to help deliver defibrillators as part of an emergency response”.

Peter, a local resident who did not wish to give his full name, said he was not against drones, which had “great potential and great uses”.

Instead, he felt strongly about the Manna drone landing site at Junction Six, which is located “90 metres directly from a housing development”.

“My issue is seeing everyone’s drone delivery. There could be 30 an hour. I can hear them from my back garden and in the kitchen,” he said. “It’s like a motorbike overhead, it’s intrusive and really annoying.”

Not all feedback on the drones is negative, though.

Manna customer Kieran O’Sullivan started using the company’s services a couple of months ago to deliver his takeaway once a week.

He described the process as “very easy” and said the drone delivery service was better than other delivery services such as bicycle or car as “it’s way quicker, the food is hotter and fresher”.

Ian Downes, the chief executive officer of Kahuna Pops, said the delivery drone system had been “absolutely incredible” for the ice lollies brand since it started using Manna last year.

Customer feedback cited how “unique and exciting” it was, he said.

“For kids’ parties, it’s quite exciting to see the drone coming and the bag dropping down. It’s quite fun and that matches our brand; popsicles are meant to be fun,” he said.

Ted Leddy, Fine Gael councillor for the Castleknock area, said there were mixed views within the community.

“There was the shock element at first, but now there are legitimate concerns around safety and privacy.”

Complaints “come and go in waves”, but remain “consistent”, he said.

He felt that local authorities and the company needed to come together to inform locals on the rules of drones.

John Burtchaell, a People Before Profit Solidarity Party councillor in the Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart area, said he had received lots of complaints about the drones alongside “one or two” positive messages about them “being good and taking traffic off the road”.

He describes it as a “50:1” ratio of those against the drones to those in favour.

“Maybe if applications of drones were used for medication and emergency situations it would be important, but not McDonald’s, coffee and doughnuts – it’s not necessary.”

John Walsh, Labour councillor for Castleknock, said he was “concerned about the unrestricted use of delivery drones”.

“There are huge volumes of concerns. The only things I’ve heard more issues about are the housing crisis and the lack of school places,” he said.

Councillor Walsh said a recent attempt by a criminal gang to drop a pipe bomb from a drone on its rivals in a housing estate in Finglas has deepened concerns.

“There is a gaping hole where regulation should be. Regulation has dragged massively behind innovation and technology,” he said.

He said the current set-up was like “cars on the road with no rules of the road, it’s like the wild west”.

“The onus is on the Government to step up and local government to have authority to ensure democratic checks and balances are in system,” he said.

Manna said it was “regulated to the highest standards” by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) under the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.

“We undergo regular rigorous independent safety tests,” the spokesman said.

An IAA spokesman said oversight and regulation of drone operations was risk-based.

“This means that the more complex the operation, the more restrictions and safety mitigations are required to ensure the safety of the public,” he said.

The Department of Transport is working on a new policy framework for drones, which will set out strategy and priorities for the development of the sector in Ireland.

A spokesman for the department said the framework was well advanced and was expected to be published in the coming months.

Manna, which has plans to set up more sites in Dublin and Cork by the end of the year, said it welcomed all regulations and said it adhered “to all those that we are required to”.