‘Suck it up' – Michael O'Leary says he has no sympathy for residents hit by Dublin Airport noise
'There are no nighttime flights taking off over your house between the hours of midnight to 6.30am [or] 6 o'clock in the morning,' he said.
'And if you're in your bed and your windows are closed, you won't even hear it. The aircraft today are 50pc quieter than they were five or 10 years ago.
'We put a video up on our website. We sent around a noise measuring site to St Margaret's, to Ballyboughal, and to Ashbourne.'
'There's less noise, with an aircraft directly overhead of those three sites, than there is in any of the main roadways in Dublin during the daytime,' he said.
It comes as Dublin Airport noise complaints more than doubled to 71,000 last year, with one person submitting 7,535 complaints in one month alone.
The individual, from St Margaret's in north Co Dublin, sent an average of 243 complaints a day, according to the report.
Meanwhile, there were 70,939 complaints about noise in 2024, an increase of over 37,000 compared to 2023.
Figures from airport operator DAA show the top five individual complainants each month accounted for 46,197 complaints last year, or 65pc of the total number of complaints.
Mr O'Leary continued: 'And they talk: 'There's a primary school there. The children can't sleep'.
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"The children are only in the primary school from 9am until about 3pm in the afternoon, they're out playing in the playground, and they make more noise than the bloody aircraft overhead."
He descibed the concerns as 'all NIMBY nonsense' and that those, who moved or built a house in the environs of Dublin Airport, were aware of the impact it might have.
'You built a house in the environs of Dublin Airport. Dublin Airport's been there since 1942; you either moved to the area or you built a house around the area. Suck it up,' he said.
"And in any event, you've now got two runways. So if your house is in St Margaret's, you've 50pc fewer flights over your house because of the second runway.
'The problem is these guys have a disproportionate influence on local county councillors in Fingal, and you have this kind of NIMBYism determining National Aviation policy.
'Dublin is our gateway to an island on the periphery of Europe.'
"We want to continue growing in Dublin, where all that growth will take place on much quieter aircraft, but we need the Minister for Transport to be responsible for the growth of airports, not local councils in Fingal or Waterford or Shannon or Cork,' he said.
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Irish Independent
10-07-2025
- Irish Independent
‘Suck it up' – Michael O'Leary says he has no sympathy for residents hit by Dublin Airport noise
Speaking to Newstalk's The Pat Kenny Show, Mr O'Leary described the noise complaints as 'utter nonsense', and, when asked whether he has 'any sympathy for the residents', he answered: 'Absolutely none'. 'There are no nighttime flights taking off over your house between the hours of midnight to 6.30am [or] 6 o'clock in the morning,' he said. 'And if you're in your bed and your windows are closed, you won't even hear it. The aircraft today are 50pc quieter than they were five or 10 years ago. 'We put a video up on our website. We sent around a noise measuring site to St Margaret's, to Ballyboughal, and to Ashbourne.' 'There's less noise, with an aircraft directly overhead of those three sites, than there is in any of the main roadways in Dublin during the daytime,' he said. It comes as Dublin Airport noise complaints more than doubled to 71,000 last year, with one person submitting 7,535 complaints in one month alone. The individual, from St Margaret's in north Co Dublin, sent an average of 243 complaints a day, according to the report. Meanwhile, there were 70,939 complaints about noise in 2024, an increase of over 37,000 compared to 2023. Figures from airport operator DAA show the top five individual complainants each month accounted for 46,197 complaints last year, or 65pc of the total number of complaints. Mr O'Leary continued: 'And they talk: 'There's a primary school there. The children can't sleep'. ADVERTISEMENT "The children are only in the primary school from 9am until about 3pm in the afternoon, they're out playing in the playground, and they make more noise than the bloody aircraft overhead." He descibed the concerns as 'all NIMBY nonsense' and that those, who moved or built a house in the environs of Dublin Airport, were aware of the impact it might have. 'You built a house in the environs of Dublin Airport. Dublin Airport's been there since 1942; you either moved to the area or you built a house around the area. Suck it up,' he said. "And in any event, you've now got two runways. So if your house is in St Margaret's, you've 50pc fewer flights over your house because of the second runway. 'The problem is these guys have a disproportionate influence on local county councillors in Fingal, and you have this kind of NIMBYism determining National Aviation policy. 'Dublin is our gateway to an island on the periphery of Europe.' "We want to continue growing in Dublin, where all that growth will take place on much quieter aircraft, but we need the Minister for Transport to be responsible for the growth of airports, not local councils in Fingal or Waterford or Shannon or Cork,' he said.
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Cork figures show 136 home septic tanks inspected every year
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