COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, May 09, 2016

QUESTION NO.6

QUESTION: Councillor B. Leech

To ask the Chief Executive, what is the Councils response to residents who complain about the noise that emanates from burglar and intruder alarms. Some of these alarms can become activated during the day when the tenant isn't there and become a real nuisance. Does the Council have a Bye-law to this, and can any action be taken. 

REPLY:

Household intruder alarms commonly mis-sound during periods of disturbed weather such as periods of extended warm temperatures or thunder storms. The alarm may also sound in error when the battery requires replacement.

South Dublin County Council does not generally get involved in "domestic to domestic" noise disputes.

There is an inexpensive and quick method available to residents to deal with persistent noise matters through the District Court.  Section 108(3) of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 and the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 (Noise) Regulations 1994, outline the procedure for making a complaint to the District Court, and further information is also available at www.enfo.ie. There is no requirement to be represented in Court by a solicitor and the District Court only charges a nominal fee for processing the action.

An option that is promoted by South Dublin County Council, and which is available to neighbours experiencing conflict with a neighbour is the South Dublin Mediation Services; Telephone (01) 451 5910, email southdublinmediationservices@gmail.com.

Where the complaint centres on a faulty intruder alarm we ask the householder in the first instance to talk to their neighbours and before availing of the above options, the neighbour can be asked to check the alarm log to ensure they are aware of the extent of the problem. Also, the alleged offender can be asked to advise their neighbours of the contact details of their trusted keyholder in case the alarm sounds while they are away on a weekend or longer break.

Complaints usually occur in the summer and in 2015 the Environmental Health Officers received 24 complaints in total. The response typically from the EHO’s is to send out an advisory letter to both the complainant and the alleged offender.