Dublin Airport’s new north runway is set to have a significant affect farms bounding the Dublin Airport Authority’s (DAA) landbank.

Brendan O’Donoghue’s dairy herd at Dunbroe, St Margaret’s, will have planes landing and taking off on both sides of them when the runway opens.

Jim Scully milks 150 cows on 75ac of his own land at Kilreesk and 125ac rented, some of it from the DAA. He is consulting with Teagasc, Glanbia and his vet on what effect the development will have on his farm. His house and farmyard will be directly underneath the new landing and take-off flight path. Raymond Fox has 16ac of tillage in Millhead and a small haulage business on his farm.

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All three farmers are concerned about the construction of an airport road, which has resulted in the clearing of acres of trees bounding their land.

They say the road has made their farmyards more exposed to theft and are also concerned about possible night flights and the devaluation of their homes. Their homes are subject to a voluntary buyout scheme but their farms are not.

A spokesman for the DAA told the Irish Farmers Journal it was in direct contact with many farmers in the locality, in order to keep them up to date with the progress of the project and it was conscious of the rural nature of the locality and the farming activity taking place there.