Cork City Council issues warning letter to drone delivery firm

Cork City Council has opened an enforcement file on a drone service that recently began deliveries in the southside of Cork city.

The service, which delivers food by drone from city businesses to people’s homes, began operating from a base in the Marina area in February.

The company, Manna Drone Delivery, operates similar services in Dublin, and these have been the subject of complaints about noise and privacy.

To facilitate Manna’s pilot programme in Cork, the Irish Aviation Authority implemented controversial temporary measures, significantly limiting other drones from flying over large parts of the city without providing two days’ notice.

A warning letter has now been issued by Cork City Council to the company, which must respond by next week.

However, local authorities have no enforcement powers over drones once they are airborne, and calls have been made for a better set of policies to be put in place, before allowing business models like this to operate.

A council spokesperson told The Echo: “Cork City Council has opened an enforcement file in relation to a drone delivery operation based at Centre Park Rd.

“It issued a warning letter to the operators of the service on April 17, 2026, pursuant to Sec 152 of the Planning and Development Act 2000.

“The matter of immediate concern to the planning authority is the purported use, or development, of part of the site as a drone/aerial delivery hub, land-use issues, and the erection of cabin and boundary fencing, all at the Marina Market, Centre Park Rd.

“The operators are entitled to make submissions or observations in writing, no later than four weeks from the date of the letter,” which would be Friday, May 15.

The council spokesperson added: 

“After consideration of any submissions, the planning authority will decide on whether to proceed with enforcement action in the form of an enforcement notice.”

The enforcement file relates to the company’s landing area only, and not its operations in the sky. While local authorities are responsible for zoning, land use, and planning matters on the ground, the IAA is the regulatory body for airspace.

Cork City Council has no policies in its city development plan regarding drones, but is working with the IAA.

The council’s transport strategic policy committee recently hosted IAA representatives, who told councillors that the IAA only deals with the safety of drone operations, but that a working group for concerns such as noise and privacy is being established.

Chairman of the committee, Labour’s Peter Horgan, said: “We need the processes and procedures outlined properly by the working group, and Cork City Council must be part of that working group.

He said: “There must be a mechanism for residents impacted to cite their issues to an independent body. This isn’t about one provider, it’s about the entire special issue of drones as delivery for consumables.”

Up to 200 submissions and complaints were lodged with the IAA during a public consultation, and a petition to stop drone noise has received hundreds of signatures.

Petition organiser Chris Johnson said: “The drones are loud, low, and intrusive, and residents are being denied any meaningful right to object.

“If an industrial activity with repetitive noise was proposed beside your home, there would be a planning process to follow, including an environmental impact assessment, and clear processes to raise objections.”

A spokesperson for Manna said: “We will respond shortly to Cork City Council and will continue engaging with officials, as we have done since before commencing operations.”