Irish roll out obligatory drone register

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has announced that from 21 December, all drones (or Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), as they're known locally) weighing over 1kg must be registered.

The authority's director of safety regulation Ralph James announced the scheme at the Drones, Data X Conference, in County Mayo, the Irish Times reports.

The IAA already has guidelines for RPAS operators, and will add details on how to register drones in December. Licenced owners will be offered an app indicating where they can, and cannot, fly.

There are an estimated 5,000 drones currently in the Emerald Isle; a number set to rise, with UAVs the "number one toy" on this year's Christmas wish lists, according to James.

Last month, the US Department of Transportation (DoT) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced they were preparing a similar registration scheme, the better to "track down people who fly their drones above the FAA designated-altitudes, or get too close to airports and other restricted zones".

A committee including representatives from the FAA, Google X, the Air Line Pilots Association and Amazon Prime Air will now out their heads together to decide how best to proceed with the plan. ®