Dublin Airport is of strategic national importance and the situation regarding the passenger cap needs to change, the Minister for Transport has said.

Minister Darragh O'Brien is to ask for Cabinet approval to draft the required legislation to end the cap.

When enacted, the Dublin Airport Passenger Capacity Bill will allow the minister to amend or revoke the existing cap of 32 million passengers and to preclude any future cap being introduced.

Speaking as he arrived at Government Buildings, Mr O'Brien said a piece of national infrastructure as critical as Dublin airport should not sit within the planning authority of Fingal County Council.

He said a balanced approach has been taken in relation to the legislation and residents in the vicinity of the airport have been to the forefront of his mind.

Minister O'Brien said the airport is "a critical employer. It's a critical piece of infrastructure, for connectivity, obviously, for foreign direct investment. And we can't have a situation whereby there is a false inhibitor to growth in place anymore."

Minister for Tourism Peter Burke said the removal of the passenger cap at Dublin airport is a very important tenet of the tourism strategy.

He said lifting the cap will be a "key strategic piece for our country in improving our infrastructure".

The passenger cap at Dublin Airport is a long-running row with concerns vocalised regularly on both sides of the dispute.

The cap was first introduced as a condition of planning when Terminal 2 was granted planning permission in 2007.

That year 23 million passengers used the airport and since then, passenger numbers have grown strongly and already exceed the 32 million cap.

The cap is currently not being implemented as the High Court has referred legal challenges to it, taken by a number of airlines, to the European courts.

Removing the passenger cap is one of the commitments contained in the Programme for Government agreed between coalition members.

The minister expects the legislation ending the passenger cap to be enacted this year.

The legislation is going ahead even though airport operator daa's own infrastructure application, which is with planning authorities in Fingal County Council, suggests a passenger cap of 40 million.

However, the application is also for new aircraft stands, expanded airport aprons, improved airport access and car parking and other structural changes so there is no plan to withdraw it at this point.

Read more: Law being drafted to remove Dublin Airport passenger cap, Taoiseach says Passenger numbers at Dublin Airport jump by 14% in January Record 36.4m passengers travelled through Dublin Airport last year

The number of passengers who passed through Dublin Airport last month increased by 14% compared to the same month last year, according to airport operator.

2.48 million people travelled through the two terminal buildings, representing the highest figure ever recorded in the month of January.

It was also the tenth consecutive month that Dublin Airport recorded growth in passenger numbers.

A record 36.4 million passengers travelled through Dublin Airport last year, a 5.1% increase in the number of people who passed through the two terminals in 2024.

The Taoiseach has described bringing of the legislation to remove the passenger cap as "a significant moment".

Campaign group calls plan to remove cap 'reckless and irresponsible'

Campaign group Children's Rights Over Flights said it is outraged that the Cabinet plans to approve legislation to lift limits on passenger numbers at Dublin Airport, even as the State-declared climate emergency worsens.

The group said it would be "reckless and irresponsible" to abolish the cap, "given the already record levels of aviation fossil fuel pollution being produced, and the recent admission that the State is hugely off track on meeting 2030 emissions reductions targets".

It said it constitutes a betrayal of obligations to protect the rights and welfare of children and future generations, because it wilfully enables masses more aviation pollution to be produced, when rapid and effective emissions reductions are essential to limit climate harms.

The group said that since 1990, Ireland's population has grown by 44% but emissions from aviation have increased by 500% and that the Irish aviation sector now accounts for an estimated 10% of Ireland’s total greenhouse gas emissions.