48% of Adults in Ireland Have Little to No Understanding of Drones
![48% of Adults in Ireland Have Little to No Understanding of Drones](/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/ZXLidarsDrone-680x365_c.jpg)
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%).