Plans for Dublin Airport to charge motorists in drop-off zones have been blasted as "nonsensical".
Fingal County Council granted planning permission for the DAA to construct new paid zones on the roads at Terminals One and Two.
But Fingal Senator Regina Doherty has strongly criticised plans to place tolls in drop off and collecting areas at the airport terminals.
Senator Doherty said: “What the planners at Fingal County Council have just approved is nonsensical.
“That means that if I’m dropping off my son or daughter at the airport before they jet off for a weekend away, I’ll have to pay for the few seconds it takes them to take their suitcase out of the boot and head into the terminal.
“At a stage, following the pandemic, where more and more people are starting to go abroad again, it’s incredible that the authorities are even considering penalising something like that.”
The new system aims to “reduce car journeys to and from the airport”, according to the DAA but Regina believes that our transport system is inadequate.
The Senator continued: “They say they want to encourage people to make greater use of public transport. That would be great if our public transport system was adequate.
“As every person north of the Liffey knows, Dublin is one of the very few capital cities in Europe with no rail link to its airport.
“We are waiting far too long for MetroLink, and with hints of unacceptable further delays to that critical project, it looks like we’ll be waiting even longer.
“Our bus network is not up to scratch either. There are limited services to major towns and cities across the country, and suburban bus routes – like the 41 to Swords, the 102 to Malahide and Sutton, and the 16 – are inadequate in terms of frequency or capacity for the demand that would be placed upon them.
“I understand that the DAA aims to have this new system up and running by the second half of 2022.
"There is still time to appeal Fingal County Council’s planning permission, and I will certainly be doing just that.”
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest new straight to your inbox.
Read More: Family of Dublin man paralysed in horrific mountain bike crash 'torn apart' by accident
Read More: We tried peri-peri mayonnaise from M&S, Lidl and Nando’s and there’s one clear winner
