48% of Adults in Ireland Have Little to No Understanding of Drones
In December 2018, Gatwick Airport in London was forced to cancel hundreds of flights and leave thousands of passengers stranded due to a repeated drone incursion. More recently, in February, Dublin airport grounded all flights for 30 minutes due to a drone sighting. With this in mind iReach Insights recently conducted a nationally representative survey on 1000 adults in Ireland to find out what people in Ireland think of drones and whether these are useful or dangerous.
48% of adults in Ireland feel that they have little to no understanding of drones and 71% think drones are invasive, under-regulated and potentially dangerous.
8% of adults in Ireland own or use a drone (11% of males and 4% of females). The main uses of the drones are for 1. Entertainment (59%), 2. Video Photography (22%) and 3. Geographical Mapping (18%). Of those who own or use a drone only 29% have had some specialized training to allow them to operate their drone safely. However, 25% of adults in Ireland think that drone operators should have to obtain a license in order to be allowed to pilot a drone.
Although 77% of adults in Ireland think that drones are becoming increasing popular in the future many still have concerns. The top concerns the general public has around drone usage is; 1. Causing accidents (72%), 2. Spying (72%), 3. Security Issues (60%), 4. Drones falling from the sky / Crashing (52%), and 5. Drones being hacked (37%).
People in Ireland believe that more needs to be done about drones. 4 out of 5 adults in Ireland think there is an urgent need for solutions to stopping malicious drone operations. Furthermore, 91% think that limits must be introduced about how and where drones can fly, including no fly-zones at airports.
Drones can also be used positively and to aid individuals to carry out tasks more efficiently. 39% of people in Ireland think that it would be useful to see drones used as delivery vehicles but only 27% of people believe that drone delivery services would be safe. In some circumstances adults in Ireland are supportive of drone use. People support drones for; 1. Emergency response (72%), Gardai Assistance (67%) and Environmental Conservation (45%).
