DAA had applied to expand the existing Holiday Blue long-term car park to accommodate the additional staff parking spaces. The company argued that the proposed car park was the minimum needed to meet current staff demand and was intended to replace employee parking lost due to ongoing developments across the airport campus.

However, the Council rejected the proposal on three grounds. It argued that the car park’s approval would be premature, given that a decision on planned infrastructure upgrades at Dublin Airport is still pending.


The Council stressed that the car park plan could not be considered in isolation without addressing the necessary improvements to the airport’s external road network and the pedestrian and cycling infrastructure along the R108.

Additionally, the Council noted that the site is zoned for enterprise and employment under the Fingal Development Plan 2023-2029, meaning the proposed car park would violate the zoning objective, which prioritizes intensive employment uses for these lands.

The Council also criticized the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) submitted with the application, stating it lacked sufficient detail and failed to adequately consider reasonable alternatives. Specific concerns included insufficient consideration of potential impacts on bats, birds, and climate change, leaving the Council unable to deem the project environmentally acceptable.

A DAA spokesperson expressed disappointment with the decision, emphasizing that the proposed car park was meant to replace lost spaces and would have helped reduce daily traffic into the Dublin Airport campus by serving as a ‘park and ride’. The spokesperson also noted that there were no objections from the National Transport Authority (NTA) or Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). DAA is now evaluating its next steps in response to the Council’s decision.