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Protest group makes voice heard UNAWARE of the storm that was brewing inside, UPROAR, a group representing Portmarnock residents who oppose the new runway, protested outside the planning hearings on Dublin Airport’s new runway. Seamus Horan has been on UPROAR’s committee for six years and he told the Fingal Independent that it didn’t make sense for the airport to be allowed to expand indefinitely and it was now time to draw a line in the sand. Mr Horan said Portmarnock residents would be living in a ‘chronic noise corridor’ if the proposed northern parallel runway at Dublin Airport was allowed to go ahead. The UPROAR spokesperson said the project would impact on up to 13 schools which would be ‘subjected to chronic noise and emissions from the aircraft’. He said the community was involved in a ‘David and Goliath’ battle and said: ‘If a community doesn’t stand up for its children like this then its views are ignored.’ The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) says it has put in place a series of measures that will mitigate any negative impacts on its neighbours. Those measures include sound insulation schemes for nearby schools and private homes as well as a voluntary buy-out scheme for houses closer to the proposed new runway. The DAA is also to establish a ‘Community Fund’ to benefit the most affected communities as a result of the runway. The issue of noise was first on the agenda on the first day of the oral hearings which were adjourned for several hours while a potential conflict of interest was investigated. By John Manning Wed Sep 27 / 2006 Fingal Independent
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