Proposal to ban private jets brought before the Dáil

Rory Fleming

“There’s no excuse for their use – they’re a status symbol of the rich and a signal that the rich don’t care”.

A bill proposing a ban on the use of private jets in Ireland has been brought before the Dáil by People Before Profit.

Seeking to prohibit private jets from flying within Irish airspace, it does allow certain exceptions for reasons such as medical evacuations and national security, in a bid to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by aviation.

Also contained within in the bill is proposed legislation which would see a person found guilty of breaking the ban be subject on summary conviction to a class A fine or imprisonment for up to one year, or, on conviction on indictment, to a fine up to €150,000 or imprisonment up to five years, or both.

TD Bríd Smyth brought the proposed legislation before Leinster House today. (Credit: Rolling News)

“Shocking” use of private jets:

When bringing the proposal before the floor of Leinster House, People Before Profit TD Bríd Smyth said that the ever-worsening climate crisis was a direct result of “the economic imperatives of the capitalist system, of the lifestyles and desires of the 1% global elite population, and of the efforts of the fossil fuel industry”.

“Aviation, however, like shipping is a kind of a twilight zone, where each nation tries to say, well, it’s not really our issue. But together, they are intimately connected with the climate crisis”, Ms. Smyth added.

“The most shocking aspect of aviation is the growth and the footprint of private jets use. And here is an example of personal behaviours that must change and where there are clear alternatives on commercial flights”.

Remarking on the fact that over 6,600 private jets departed Ireland in 2022 alone, the politician bemoaned their status as a symbol of exorbitant wealth.

Over 6,600 private jets took off from Ireland in 2022. (Credit: Getty Images)

“There’s no excuse for their use – they’re a status symbol of the rich and a signal that the rich don’t care”.

Under this proposed bill, commercial flights would be exempt from the ban. Moreover, exceptions would also be made for medical evacuation flights, flights concerning national security, flights concerning a foreign sovereign state, private military jets and private jets belonging to the State.

The proposed ban comes off the back of a report by the World Meteorological Organisation released yesterday which detailed that one of the next five years is highly likely to be the hottest of modern records.

With impacts of climate change such as droughts, heatwaves and rising sea levels already being felt, the report also stated that global surface temperatures are expected to exceed 1.5 and 2 degrees unless “deep reductions” are made to emissions.

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