A Green Party MEP has criticised coalition parties over their stance on increasing the passenger cap at Dublin Airport.

Differences have emerged between the Government partners over proposals that would see the 32 million cap raised to 40 million passengers per year.

Authorities have said a total of 31.908 million passengers passed through the terminals of Dublin Airport in 2023.

The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Finance Minister Michael McGrath have backed the move, however some Green representatives have expressed reservations.

Speaking in Strasbourg on Tuesday, Green Party Dublin MEP Ciarán Cuffe said the Government can't have it both ways.

"You cannot sign up to Climate Action and then say, 'Oh but you can't interfere with aviation, agriculture or energy performance'," he said.

"Sooner or later we actually have to make cuts in our greenhouse gas emissions.

"I think there is a sense of cognitive dissonance at work here of saying, 'Oh technology will solve all these problems' - it won't.

"Sooner or later we actually have to bring down our greenhouse gas emissions.

"And I don't buy this idea that 'Ireland is an island nation and therefore we should do nothing'.

"What about Malta, what about Cyprus, what about Finland [and] Sweden, these countries that are effectively islands?

"What about Romania where there are no easy connections to get into central or western Europe?

"So, the attitude that Ireland is completely an exception doesn't hold up for me".

Passengers at Dublin Airport's Terminal 1, 3-4-23. Image: Piere Bonbon / Alamy

Mr Cuffe said residents near the airport in north Dublin deserve a good night's sleep.

"When it comes to Dublin Airport, I think the residences of north Dublin deserve a decent night's sleep," he said.

"The problem that they have is that they are disrupted by planes during the day but also at night time."

Mr Cuffe said he believes Dublin Airport has already "exceeded" its passenger cap of 32 million.

DAA CEO Kenny Jacobs has said keeping the cap in place will cost Ireland connectivity and jobs.

"We don't reduce emissions - we just move it to other airports like Manchester, like Edinburgh," he said.

Mr Jacobs said that as Dublin is a "hub airport", capping numbers would not incentivise airlines to move to regional airports. 

Mr Jacobs added that aviation is responsible for less than 2.5% of emissions.

Main image: Green Party MEP Ciarán Cuffe at a plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels, 11-3-21. Image: Martin Bertrand / Alamy