Owning and operating drones in Ireland

Drones, or Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), are remotely piloted flying crafts that a person on land controls with a remote.

Drones vary in size and weight and can come fitted with features such as cameras or sensors.

If you own or use a drone in Ireland, various laws and rules apply to you, regardless of whether you use the drone for educational, scientific, or recreational purposes.

The law on drones also applies to other types of aircraft without a pilot on board. This includes certain radio-controlled flying models.

If you fly a drone in Ireland that weighs more than 250 grams or has a camera or sensor, then you must register as a drone operator with the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA).

A person may not operate a drone in a manner that may be hazardous to other aircraft, or that may endanger life or result in damage to property.

Drone-owners must register with the Irish Aviation Authority to fly drones that weigh 250 grams or more. Registration costs €40 and is valid for 2 years. If you live in the European Union, you only need to register in the country where you live, and not in each country where you want to fly your drone.

Even if your drone weighs less than 250 grams, you must register if it has a camera or sensor unless it complies with the ‘toy’ directive.

To register as a drone operator, you must:

• Be 16 or over
• Set up an account and verify your identity
• Take a 15-minute online training course - certification is needed for drones over 250g, valid for 5 years, fees apply (pdf).

If your drone is above 4 kilograms, or if you are planning on doing certain activities with your drone, you must do extra training.

Once you are registered, you must label your drone with your registration number and upload it onto the drone’s Direct Remote ID.

Remote ID for drones

Remote ID is like a digital licence plate for drones. It sends live information about your drone's location, height, flight path, and operator ID while it is flying.

This helps authorities and the public know who is flying a drone and whether it’s being used safely and legally.

People nearby can read this information using free smartphone apps like DroneScanner, OpenDroneID, or Air Sentinel.

See the FAQs about drone registration and information about drone remote identification on the IAA website.

You should not fly a drone:

• In a way that could cause a hazard to another aircraft
• Near moving aircraft or in an aerodrome traffic circuit
• In a manner that poses a risk to people, the environment or property

Flying drones is separated into 3 categories based on the risk attached:

• Open category – low risk
• Specific category – medium risk
• Certified category – highest risk, carrying people or dangerous goods

If you are flying a drone that weighs under 25 kilograms within the limits of the ‘open’ category you do not need prior permission for the flight. There are 3 subcategories in the ‘open’ category – A1, A2 and A3.

To fly a drone that weighs more than 25 kilograms, or to fly your drone outside the ‘open’ category limits, you must apply for an Operational Authorisation from the Irish Aviation Authority.

Make sure to always look at the UAS geographical zone map before you fly your drone. There are specific places where you are not allowed to fly your drone, or you might need permission to fly. Some areas may have certain restrictions or limitations on flying your drone. The IAA website has more information.

The Irish Aviation Authority or the Gardaí can take away your drone if they believe it is likely that you will use it in breach of the regulations.

The open category refers to drone flights which are deemed to be at a low risk.

Drones in the open category must weigh less than 25 kilograms or have one of the class identification marks 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4. Drones bought before 1 January 2023 are not required to have a class identification mark.

You can fly an ‘open’ category drone (weighing under 25 kilograms) without permission, as long as:

• The drone is no more than 120 metres above the level of the land or water directly below
• The drone is not outside your line of sight
• The drone is not on or near certain exempted zones such as around hospitals and aerodromes
• Your capacity to operate the drone is not affected by alcohol consumption or illness.

There are restrictions in place on:

• Whether and to what extent you can fly over or near uninvolved people or crowds
• Whether you can fly it in urban areas

The restrictions depend on which subcategory the drone falls into and what class identification mark it has.

Your drone cannot carry dangerous goods or release any objects.

The specific category covers drone flights which are deemed to have a medium level of risk.

Drones that weigh more than 25 kilograms cannot be flown without the explicit permission of the Irish Aviation Authority. If you want to fly your drone outside the limits of the ‘open category’ you must inform the Irish Aviation Authority and generally wait for the Operational Authorisation.

Reporting incidents and accidents

If you have any type of incident using your drone as a registered operator, you can report it to the IAA by emailing drones@iaa.ie.

If there is an accident or serious incident, a report should be submitted through aviationreporting.eu and you should notify the IAA at drones@iaa.ie.

If your drone is involved in an accident that involves serious injury or death to a person you must inform:

• The UAS Division of the Irish Aviation Authority (drones@iaa.ie.)
• The Gardaí
• The Air Accident Investigation Unit
• aviationreporting.eu

You must also inform the organisations listed above if your drone is involved in a serious incident that could have resulted in injury or death to someone.

Enforcement measures

The Gardaí can detain the drone if they suspect there has been a breach of the law.

A licenced aerodrome operator may use a counter UAS system to disable, disrupt or seize control of an unmanned aircraft to ensure the safety of civil aviation and the public.

Insurance

If you fly a drone, you usually need insurance, unless it’s just for recreational purposes and weighs under 20kg. The IAA suggests getting third-party insurance even for smaller drones. They recommend that all drone users have insurance.

Reporting illegal and unsafe drone use

If you are a member of the public and you see a drone being used dangerously or illegally, you can report it to:

• The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) by email at drones@iaa.ie or by submitting a report, or
• An Garda Síochána, if there is an immediate risk of injury, breach of privacy or security rules or causing a general nuisance

If you operate a drone with a camera or listening device capable of recording images or video of persons who could be identified (with or without zooming in), you could be a data controller under the General Data Protection Regulations.

Any processing of personal data, including gathering, exchanging or transmitting digital recordings must be done by data protection law. You must have a legal basis to process that personal data. This could be that you have:

• The person’s consent, or
• A legitimate interest in processing the personal data, and there is only a minimal impact on the person’s rights.

You may be required to prepare a Data Protection Impact Assessment.

You can minimise the impact on the person’s data protection rights by using blurring software or some other method of making the person less identifiable.

Using a drone to take pictures or video as a recreational activity may be exempt from data protection law, but only if you do not publish the images or video to an unrestricted audience.

You can read more in the Data Protection Commission’s Guidance on the Use of Drones (pdf).

EU law regulates the design, specifications, manufacture, and marketing of unmanned aircraft systems within the European market.

It also outlines strict rules about potential add-ons and accessories that operators can buy and fit into their drones.

For more information, please see the Irish Aviation Authority website. Alternatively, if you have registered as a drone operator on the IAA website, you can log in and send a message to request assistance or submit a query.