Ireland’s Commercial Drone Industry Explained
In July 2025, we spoke with Josh Crosbie on Newstalk’s Pat Kenny show about how drones are being used across Irish industry today. We covered drone LiDAR surveys for coastal erosion monitoring, topographical drone surveys for solar and wind farm development, and how drone data is now central to planning, engineering and asset management in Ireland. We specialise in the survey and inspection side of the industry and walked Josh through some of the projects we have delivered across the country.
Commercial Drone Services in Ireland: What We Actually Do
Commercial drones in Ireland are no longer a novelty. For engineers, contractors, insurers, councils and renewable energy developers, a drone survey is often the fastest and most cost-effective way to capture accurate site data. We operate under IAA and EASA rules in the Specific Category and deliver survey-grade data across all 32 counties.
On the interview with Josh, we covered the core use cases that drive most of our work:
- Drone LiDAR surveys – bare-earth DTMs through vegetation for flood modelling, forestry and infrastructure corridors.
- Topographic surveys – RTK-accurate terrain models, contours and CAD deliverables for construction and architecture.
- Solar farm inspections – thermal imaging to detect faulty panels and output losses across Ireland’s growing PV estate.
- Wind turbine inspections – blade, tower and nacelle surveys with automated flight paths.
- Bridge and structural inspections – safe, scaffolding-free condition reporting using 8K imagery and thermal data.
- Roof and building inspections – rapid reports for insurers, facilities managers and homeowners.
- Stockpile volumetrics – cut-and-fill calculations for quarries and earthworks contractors.
Why Drone Data Has Become Essential for Irish Projects
The conversation with Josh kept coming back to one theme: data. Traditional ground surveys are still vital, but a modern drone flight can capture millions of accurately georeferenced measurements in a single pass. That means faster construction progress monitoring, safer infrastructure inspection and more defensible data for planning, claims and disputes.
For Ireland specifically, drone surveys work well because so much of our infrastructure spans difficult terrain – dense forestry, coastal cliffs, boggy upland and old stone structures. A LiDAR drone can penetrate vegetation, a thermal drone can spot faults invisible to the eye, and a 3D photogrammetric model gives stakeholders a shared picture that a 2D report never will.
Irish Drone Regulations: The Background to the Interview
A big part of the Pat Kenny discussion was the regulatory side. Ireland operates under the EASA framework with the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) as the national regulator. Commercial operators flying beyond the basic Open Category need to work in the Specific Category, which requires an operational authorisation, mission planning and risk assessment, and demonstrated competence of the remote pilot.
We have written extensively on what this actually means in practice for both operators and clients:
- How to register a drone with the IAA
- Flying a drone in Dublin and restricted airspace
- When is a drone licence not a licence?
- Drone insurance requirements in Ireland
- Where can I fly my drone in Ireland?
- Official Ireland drone airspace map
Who We Work With Across Ireland
Our client base reflects how broad commercial drone use has become. We support construction and engineering consultancies on everything from greenfield site surveys to as-built verification. We work with renewable energy developers on solar and wind projects. We deliver planning and environmental data for local authorities and the OPW. We support insurers and loss adjusters on roof and storm damage inspections. And we provide quarry and aggregate operators with regular volumetric and face inspection data.
Location-specific coverage includes Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford, Mayo and Kerry, with nationwide availability across all 32 counties.
Listen to the Full Newstalk Interview
You can listen to the full conversation with Josh Crosbie on Pat Kenny’s Newstalk show using the Spotify player above. If anything in the interview sparked a question about your own project – whether you need a survey, inspection or aerial mapping job – the fastest next step is to talk to us directly.
A Quick Note from Fergal
Chats like this one with Josh and Pat Kenny matter because they push the public conversation past “drones as toys” into the practical reality – drones as surveying instruments, as inspection tools, as a safer way to reach difficult assets. That’s what we do every day. If you heard the interview and wondered whether a drone survey would suit your project, the most useful next step is a quick call or email. We’ll tell you honestly whether a drone is the right tool, what accuracy to expect, what the deliverables look like, and what the realistic cost range is. We’ve been doing this since 2016, longer than almost any other commercial operator in Ireland, and we’re happy to give straight answers to straight questions.
Start with our services overview, our surveying and mapping page, or jump straight to asset inspection. When you’re ready, contact us for a free quote in 24 hours.