Laois councillor ‘drones’ on…

A RECENT meeting of Portlaoise Municipal District heard that aerial technology will soon come to dominate residents' lives in a number of ways, many of them groundbreaking innovations in health and lifestyle.

The prediction was delivered by Cllr Paddy Buggy, who stated: "Drones can be used for both good and evil. Clear guidelines are needed to ensure their appropriate use."

The fact that the population and size of Portlaoise was growing at an astonishing rate – "a city in all but name’’ – informed the necessity of developing these regulations. According to the councillor, drones could be used to deliver lifesaving defibrillators from hospitals to patients within the critical three-minute window that is so often missed due to traffic; could be used to deliver food from grocery stores, thereby cutting back on traffic and delays in the general rhythm of life; and might "in the not too distant future" advance far enough to replace cars.

The councillor also urged that any and all future drone measures must be "respectful of peoples' privacy and not a nuisance."

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.