Residents living close to Dublin Airport have slammed the €20,000 grant being offered to 300 families as being "not nearly enough" to insulate their homes from noise.
Last week, Fingal County Council made it a condition of easing restrictions on the airport’s new €320m runway which means that Dublin Airport Authority faces a potential bill of €6m to insulate around 300 homes. This morning the new runway, which is located north of Dublin Airport’s main runway, was officially opened with Ryanair flight FR1964 to Eindhoven in The Netherlands jetting off at 12pm.
However, residents living near Dublin Airport told Dublin Live that they are "very concerned" about the increased noise, and they are also worried that the insulation grant will not cover the full cost of the works on their homes. One local resident, James, said that his family received the insulation grant of €20,000 in the last few days but estimates the costs will be "double what we have been given."
Read more: Watch as Ryanair flight takes off from Dublin's newest runway
James said: "We're after putting in quotes with local window fitters, two places have told us that the work to insulate triple glazing on all of the windows will cost well over €20,000, it will cost nearly double what we have been given.
"It look's like we'll have to make a decision to do just the bedrooms upstairs instead of the whole house. It's madness, the grant isn't nearly enough to do up a three-bed semi."
Dublin Live contacted several window fitting companies for quotas, with Senator Windows coming back with a quote of over €40,000 for a 3-bedroom semi-detached home to put in special insulation and glazing to prevent noise.
The original planning permission submitted in 2007 by Dublin Airport Authority included strict restrictions on flights between the hours of 11pm and 7am, although they have since been rolled back. The airport will instead run a new Noise Quota system, which residents claim will allow it to run a “literally unlimited” number of night flights.
Michael O’Rourke from St Margaret’s and The Ward Residents Association told Newstalk that windows and noise rated doors will cost "thousands each" and that €20,000 will most likely only cover the bedrooms. He added: "It’s up to you to try to figure out how to insulate the rest of the house.”
Mr O'Rourke also rejected the argument that people living near the airport were well aware of noise pollution problems when they bought their homes. He said: "My house is here nearly 300 years. My great grandparents were in this house.
Read more: Sneak peek into Aer Lingus business class experience
"My family lived in this house before Dublin Airport was an airport and it is not that easy to turn around and say okay, let’s sell and move. The house has been seriously devalued because of the airport," he added.
Previously speaking to Dublin Live, Green Party's Ian Carey said that the increase in night noise from aviation will "impact the health of tens of thousands of people" from Swords, Malahide, Portmarnock, Dublin 15, and across Dublin. He said: "This scheme only extends to a few hundred homes. The airport could be doing a lot more for those facing increased night-time noise. The figure of €6million euro to be invested in the insulation scheme is like peanuts to an organisation like the DAA."
Read Next:
Dublin Airport's new north runway opens for first flight and how to watch it live
Passengers stranded after Ryanair forced to cut capacity on Dublin flight
Increase in Dublin Airport night time flights approved by Fingal County Council
Dublin Airport reduces passenger arrival times after improvements
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox
