Drone Laws Ireland

Drone regulations in Ireland explained for you.

Do I need to register myself or my drone?

Unless they are in the Certified Category, drones do not need to be registered, but you, as drone operator must register yourself. You do so with the Irish Aviation Authority at  https://iaa.mysrs.ie/auth/sign-in 

You register once in one European State, independently of how many drones you are operating in the ’open’ or the ’specific’ category. Your registration will be valid for a period of 5 years, after which you need to renew it. You must affix your Operator ID to all drones that you are operating 

However, you do not need to register yourself if your drone(s):

  1. weighs less than 250g and has no camera or other sensor able to detect personal data; or

  2. even with a camera or other sensor, weighs less than 250g, but is a toy (this means that its documentation shows that it complies with ‘toy’ Directive 2009/48/EC); 

Do all remote pilots need to carry out training?

Yes, in general, you need to have training that is proportionate to the category of drone you are going to operate. Remote pilots operating any drone above 250g are required to have some form of training in the Open or Specific Category.

So in the Open category remote pilots flying in subcategories A1, A2 and A3 are required to:

  1. be familiar with the manufacturer’s manual;

  2. complete an online training course provided by the IAA at https://iaa.mysrs.ie/auth/sign-in ; and

  3. successfully complete an online theoretical knowledge examination (provided at the end of the online training) before they can fly the drone. 

The test consists of 40 multiple choice questions testing your knowledge as a pilot.

Once you have passed the test the IAA will issue a certificate of completion of the online training. It enables you to fly in the in A1 and A3 subcategories.

If you intend to operate in A2 subcategory, you must in addition to the above:

  1. Complete practical training of yourself in order to familiarise yourself with the drone and ensure you reach a good level of control. This must be conducted in an area where you do not pose a risk to other people away from industrial, residential, recreational and commercial areas and is self certified on MySRS; and

  2. Undergo an additional theoretical knowledge examination that will be provided by a Recognised Entity;

The test consists of 30 multiple choice questions testing the pilot’s knowledge on mitigation of ground risks, meteorology and the drone’s flight performance.  

On completion, the Recognised Entity will issue a course completion certificate and approve your Open A2 authorisation in MySRS. Then the IAA who issue a ‘certificate of remote pilot competency’. With this certificate, you can fly in the A2 subcategory.

What if I want to operate in the Specific Category? 

If you want to operate in the Specific Category you will require additional certification. This can be carried out at a Recognised Entity and accepted by the IAA. 

You should check whether your operation can be accommodated within a standard scenario. If it can, you do not need an Operational Authorisation, but you do need to submit a declaration to the IAA. A standard scenario is an operation defined in the Appendix to the drone regulation (EU Regulation 2019/947). You need to use a drone marked with the appropriate class identification label (5 or 6 which should be available on the market late 2021 or early 2022). After submitting the declaration to the IAA, you will receive the confirmation of receipt and completeness from the IAA and operate following the limitations of the standard scenario. 

Otherwise, there are other means to obtain an operational authorisation under the ‘specific’ category, depending on the level of risk the operation poses and the fact you are flying a “legacy” drone. The drone operator can apply for:

  1. An operational authorisation by conducting a risk assessment of the intended operation using a methodology for the risk assessment; one possible method is the SORA (specific operation risk assessment) that you can find as AMC1 to Article 11 to Regulation (EU) 2019/947. This methodology helps to identify the risk level of the operation and to identify the mitigations and operational safety objectives needed to make the operation safe. When the drone operator believes they have put in place satisfactory measures to ensure the safety of the operation, they send all the information to the IAA and apply for an operational authorisation. When the IAA is satisfied, it provides the drone operator with the authorisation, and the operation can be started.    

  2. An operation authorisation through a predefined risk assessment’ (PDRA) as a simplification of the drone operator conducting a risk assessment. For those operations that will be the most common in Europe, EASA will carry out the risk assessment and will publish, as an acceptable means of compliance with the drone regulation, the list of the actions that the drone operator needs to put in place in order to conduct the operation safely. An application for an authorisation to the IAA is still needed, however, both the drone operator and the IAA will benefit from the standardised measures defined in the PDRA. The PDRAs are published by EASA as AMC to Art 11 to Regulation (EU) 2019/947; more are already under development.  

  3. Light UAS operator certificate (LUC): this is a voluntary certification, after which the IAA may allocate some privileges to the drone operator.

Drone operators may ask the IAA to assess their organisation to evaluate whether they are capable of assessing the risk of an operation themselves. The requirements to be demonstrated by drone operators are defined in Part C of Regulation (EU) 2019/947. When the IAA is satisfied, they will issue a light UAS operator certificate (LUC) and they will allocate privileges to the drone operators based on their level of maturity. The privileges may be one or more of the following:

  • To conduct operations covered by standard scenarios without submitting a declaration; 

  • To self-authorise operations conducted by the drone operator and covered by a PDRA without applying for an authorisation.

  • To self-authorise all operations conducted by the drone operator without applying for an authorisation.  

Regulatory reference: article 12 of EU regulation 2012/947.

What if I am not from Ireland and I want to fly here?

People from other EU countries are entitled to fly in Ireland so long as the have the appropriate license and they follow the local rules. People from outside the EU should register to be a drone operator in Ireland (or other EU country) if they wish to fly drones in Ireland. You can register here. You can find more information about operating drones in Ireland here.





Please watch the video below for more information on the current regulations.

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