Dominick Donnelly

26^th May 2009

On the spot fines for nuisance noise will deter boy racers

Minister for the Environment John Gormley today announced details of new laws that will clamp down on nuisance noise. The Green Party’s local election candidate for the Carrigaline electoral area of Cork County Council and for Passage West Town Council, Cllr. Dominick Donnelly welcomed the announcement saying “This will be particularly beneficial to those living in noisy areas or near construction sites. Likewise it will also give relief in neighbourhoods where intruder alarms make life miserable for all.”

The Noise Nuisance Bill is part of the Programme for Government. The bill was approved by Cabinet last week and will go before the Oireachtas this autumn. Launching the bill Minister Gormley said: “The new noise laws will improve the effectiveness of the existing resources available to tackle nuisance noise issues. It will strengthen existing local authority powers and allow for a system of immediate fines both for residential and business offenders.”

Under the current system council officials are not able to take action immediately to stop sources of noise pollution, they can go through the courts but this takes weeks. Authorised officers from local authorities and An Garda Siochana will be given new fast-track powers to take prompt and effective action to deal with intruder alarms when they sound continuously at premises.

Cllr. Donnelly concluded:  “Noise pollution affects nearly everybody and can be a matter of particular concern for those badly affected by boy racers, late night parties, early morning construction work or neighbours with blaring intruder alarms.  This legislation will also be of interest to those of us in Passage West living close to the dockyard, as there have been serious issues with noise pollution there for many years.  The World Health Organisation has said that noise pollution can have serious public health affects including sleep disturbance, auditory and physiological effects. This new bill aims to improve quality of life and allow people inCork to get their well-deserved rest without interruption.”