Annoying house/car alarms

proteus

Hello all,

I've searched this forum and was surprised to find no threads on nuisance house or car alarms, where the alarm is constantly going off throughout the day.

Could anybody tell me what is the procedure to force the owner of the above property to rectify the alarm problem. I know you can call the Gardai but will they do anything?

I've heard that the external bell on house alarms must cease after 30 minutes but in recent days with the high winds, alarms are going-off repeatedly.

Victor

Its effectively a civil matter. You can make a complaint through the environment section of your local council and / or sue them in the District Court.

ublinia2

Can the guards not take action under breach of the peace / social order etc. If you contact the council - how long does it take for them to act.

Presumably if i wanted to park my car outside somebodies house and let the alarm go off all day , the guards wont be too long arresting me for breach of the peace or taking my car away .

Do the guards have any powers to deal with these alarms?

Victor

Its difficult to have breach of the peace on private property.

Overheal

well, the idea of the alarm is to alert people to possible criminal activity: I say call them up and let them bust in there to see whats happening.

haz

proteus wrote:

Could anybody tell me what is the procedure to force the owner of the above property to rectify the alarm problem. I know you can call the Gardai but will they do anything?

There is no enforcement of existing (useless) legislation - the EPA will come and measure and take action for consistent industrial noise, the council might act on repeated antisocial nuisance noise, the gardai might inform a noise-maker that they are leading towards a breach of the peace - they might even investigate an alarm and result in it being switched off. But it isn't any of their jobs. Alarms are a horrible abuse of the peace that have absolutely no deterrent value.

The good news is a new Noise Bill 2006 http://www.oireachtas.ie/... which covers alarms in section 11 and dogs in section 12, and generally everything over 35dB or 10dB over background (that's about as loud as a fridge compressor in the same room).

dermot_sheehan

Local Autority or any induvidual can complain to district court under s. 109 of the environmental protection act for an order to cease making the noise
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZA7Y1992S108.html

See page 598 of schedule C of the district court rules for the form for making the complaint http://www.courts.ie/rules.nsf/542e6646d991f51a80256db700399500/133b6f4ec45f238f80256f270054b152/$FILE/Schedule C.pdf

MadsL

The good news is a new Noise Bill 2006 http://www.oireachtas.ie/... which covers alarms in section 11 and dogs in section 12, and generally everything over 35dB or 10dB over background (that's about as loud as a fridge compressor in the same room).

I see they are having fun with it....

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Mr. N. Ahern): The Government is not opposing this reading of the Noise Bill, as tabled by the Green Party. I look forward to further debate on the issues on Committee Stage. I do not mean that people from rural areas do not understand the issue, but people from urban areas will be more familiar with it, whether it concerns a barking dog or a central heating boiler.
Mr. Cuffe: The dog would not eat the Minister of State.
Mr. N. Ahern: There is no doubt that some people have far better hearing than others.
Mr. Cuffe: Pardon?
Mr. N. Ahern: The new Dublin Port tunnel runs through part of my constituency. One person, who I hope is not in the Gallery, frequently came to my clinic complaining he heard something going on at night.
Mr. Sargent: Was it the Taoiseach?