Dublin Airport to lodge plans for 950-space car park for staff

Gordon Deegan

The operator of Dublin Airport is to lodge plans in the coming days for a 950-space car park – for staff working at the airport.

In the planning application to be lodged with Fingal County Council, DAA is seeking planning permission for a westwards extension of the existing Holiday Blue long term car-park for the additional 950 "airport staff car parking spaces".

A published planning notice for the scheme states that the application site totals 10.5 acres and is bounded by the South Parallel Road to the north, Harristown Lane to the west and Horizon Business Park to the south.

The development will involve the demolition of an existing cattle pen and hard standing area and the planning notice states that the 950 spaces will include 48 spaces for persons with reduced mobility.

The car park extension will also include 96 spaces that will be serviced by Electric Vehicle (EV) charging points.

The application comes against the background of growing pressure at Dublin airport car parks for airport passengers.

A spokesman for daa said on Monday that the application is required by staff at the growing number of companies, including airlines, ground handling providers and logistics firms who operate on the Dublin airport campus.

He said: “daa has plans to increase the number of parking spaces at Dublin Airport for both passengers and staff”.

He added: “The number of car parking spaces available for passengers also needs to increase to meet demand and our Infrastructure Application, submitted to Fingal County Council last year, includes plans to add an additional 2,500+ long and short-term car parking spaces.”

On the staff parking application, he said that “timelines for the opening of the new car park will depend on how long it takes to secure planning permission”.

The spokesman also pointed that daa is fully committed to increase the volume and attractiveness of public transport options available for passengers and staff “and our Infrastructure Application includes plans for a new Ground Transportation Centre which would incorporate an expanded and enhanced bus station and ultimately also the Dublin Airport Metrolink stop”.

Asked about daa efforts to address the current shortage of passenger car spaces, the daa spokesman said: “We continue to explore every option available and remain in discussions to see if we can operate the former Quickpark facility, where 6,200 spaces are currently lying idle, to see if we can operate it on a temporary basis for the Summer months.”

A decision will be made on the staff car-parking application later this year by Fingal County Council but any appeal to An Bord Pleanála would ensure that there would be no final decision on the application until 2025.