People in south Dublin could be able to get their favourite takeaway delivered by drone within months, an Irish company has claimed.

Drone delivery firm Manna is pledging 'three minute or less' delivery from restaurant to door.

They'll initially launch their new service in a limited number of areas, with 2020 being considered a test year for the firm.

The company is 'confident' the service will launch in south Dublin on March 9th, before plans to roll it out across the country later in 2020 and 2021.

They say they have looked into concerns around privacy, noise pollution and validating their use of airspace.

Bobby Healy, CEO of Manna, insisted safety is not an issue with their drones.

Speaking to Newstalk's Jess Kelly, Mr Healy said: "Our data tells us that we're safer than general aviation.

"We'll be flying ten to a hundred times more flights than the largest airline in the world - so we have to be hundreds of times safer than anyone who flies in aircraft.

"2020 for us is going to be about showing everyone in Ireland what it looks like, and bragging to the world that Ireland are the first to do it properly."

He also suggested Manna would be in the US by the second half of the year - but for now said they believe Ireland is the 'perfect' location for their initial efforts.