Aviation

Bill to ban private planes in Ireland passes first stage in Dáil

Hard-left party Solidarity party introduces bill as means of reducing country’s carbon footprint, but Government to seek to strike it down

Private jets pictured at Dublin airport. In 2021, almost 7,000 private planes landed in Ireland

A new law aimed at banning private jet aircraft in Ireland has passed first stage in the Dáil.

The bill introduced by the hard-left Solidarity TDs Brid Smith and Paul Murphy seeks to address Ireland’s continuing rise in carbon emissions.

While it passed Stage one unopposed, the bill is likely to be strongly challenged by the Government in the later stages of the legislative process who have moved to condemn the bill as “unworkable”.

During ...