Banning private jets is a “common sense” thing to do, a councillor from An Rabharta Glas-Green Left
has said. 

Liam Sinclair tabled a motion at a meeting of South Dublin County Council, calling on the Government to ban the use of a private aeroplane for commercial or leisure purposes. 

The motion was defeated but Cllr Sinclair plans to continue campaigning on the issue. 

“Private airplanes, they are something that very few people have access to – the super rich only,” he told Newstalk Breakfast.  

“They make a lot of pollution, so I think it’s just an easy way to have an impact on very few people and get rid of some of the pollution we’re putting into the atmosphere.” 

Jets are the favourite method of travel for the super rich and the CEOs of large multinational corporations – many of whom invest in Ireland. 

However, Cllr Sinclair does not believe a ban would put Ireland at a competitive disadvantage. 

“I don’t think so,” he said. 

“There’s plenty of passenger airlines flying in and out of Dublin every day… We’re sending out a message that we’re going to insist on climate positive actions.” 

Private jets are responsible for around 33 million tons of greenhouse gases annually – which is more carbon than people living in Denmark use in a single year. 

Due to the small number of passengers they carry, they are as much as 14 times as polluting as a commercial…