A MAYNOOTH residents' association has written to a number of Government Ministers raising concerns about security measures at nearby Weston airport and asking that flights be regularly inspected by Customs officials.
They have also claimed that aircraft have flown too close to their houses on numerous occasions and said the Jim Mansfield-owned airport could not be trusted to police itself.
Mr Mansfield rejected the criticisms yesterday and said his airport had the strictest security measures of any small airport in Europe.
Late last week, the Carton Court Residents' Association wrote to Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern and Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan, expressing concern at the number of flights coming from Britain and Europe to the executive airport 12km (eight miles) west of Dublin.
Frank O'Shea, acting secretary of the association, wrote that the amount of drugs finds in west Dublin and north Kildare was "quite staggering and the fact that so many flights come in through Weston aerodrome without any form of State security available should put the Departments of Finance and Justice on its guard".
He asked that gardaí and immigration officials regularly inspect flights arriving at the airport.
Mr Mansfield said his security procedures made Weston the "strictest of any small airport in Europe" and he pointed out that drugs had never been found at the airport. He said he had provided a full-time office for Customs officials at the airport and they could arrive whenever they pleased.
A Revenue spokeswoman said Customs controls at small airports such as Weston were risk-based. She pointed to a Dáil statement in June by Mr Lenihan which said that Customs attendance was "targeted and is based on analysis and evaluation of general seizure trends, traffic frequency, route and similar risk indicators".
Customs attendance could also be as a result of specific intelligence, he said. In September 2006, 50kg (110lbs) of heroin was found in the luggage of a passenger who tried to board a private aircraft at an airport in Belgium. The aircraft was destined for Weston. A man is due to stand trial in connection with the case next year.
Asked if the Customs inspections had increased since this incident, the spokeswoman said the controls were kept under constant review, in particular to take account of emerging smuggling trends and any increase in traffic at such airports.
The association has also written to Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey complaining about the "continual noise and intrusion with regard to aircraft . . . on a regular and daily basis, flying over and close to this estate".
Mr O'Shea referred to a recent incident when a private aircraft flew over the estate at a very low altitude. E-mails to the association show the Irish Aviation Authority recorded the aircraft at an altitude of 274m (900ft) but an official at Weston said the only aircraft in the area at that time was observed at 457m (1,500ft) and was not as low as residents believed.
Mr O'Shea claimed the airport was "not best-placed to deal with complaints regarding non-adherence to procedures" and it could not be trusted to police itself. The group has sought a meeting with Mr Dempsey to outline its concerns.
The association has also written to local TDs, asking them for support in ensuring that all flights leaving the airport fly south of the M4 motorway and away from housing estates and a business and technology park.
Mr Mansfield denied aircraft were flying too low or disobeying agreed flight paths. He said the airport had its own radar as well as full-time air traffic controllers who monitored all traffic.
He said major improvements had been made to the airport in recent years and the number of movements to and from the airport had fallen from 140,000 per year to fewer than 100,000 per year because its training school was using a flight simulator for some flights.
