Tormented day & night by house alarms!!

feckless

I've been absolutely driven mad by alarms constantly going off around my area
(Ringsend) for the past few weeks. This has always been a problem for me wherever I've lived around Dublin.
I'm convinced these alarms serve absolutely no purpose. What are they there for? I presume they are to alert people of a property being broken into, if so, shouldn't you ring the police?
I doubt many people actually act on hearing an alarm, I know I never have, and I don't know anyone else who has.
Were people to call the police every time one of these things goes off, they would never get anything done.
So what do you do? Complain to the owner of the property? Call the local council?
I'm at my wits end. There are 2 different alarms going off right now across from my flat in apartment complexes (usually the main culprits). There are often hundreds of these alarms in each complex and chances are one of them is going off at any one time.
Surely it is a public disturbance issue. If I was playing music out my window at that level, the police would be at my door in minutes.
I think we should all make a stand against these things and the people who are responsible for them. I've started making a log of every time one goes off but I just can't keep up.
Any help/advice would be most appreciated.

Victor

It sounds like they are taking a toll on you. In the short term, invest in a pair of (reuseable) foam ear plugs from you local pharmacy for less than €1.

Alarms are meant to be monitored and are meant to stop after about 20 minutes (longer for older ones).

You can make a complaint via your local council or directly to a court.

mastermind2005

just get yourelf a rifle... thats what i did

Victor

Not a suitable solution - guns make noise.

SimpleSam06

Go around to your neighbours and ask them what they think. Go to everyone in the area in fact and get them to weigh in on the constant alarms going off. Perhaps then you could organise a petition or at least go to the Council or the Guards and say, "hey I have 200 people here all tormented by noise pollution, which afaik is illegal, can we get something done about it?" They can at least force the owners of the alarms to move to a silent system, eircom phonewatch or something like that.

Or you might just track down the owners of the property and ask them to take that step themselves. If they don't, you can move to the authorities.

okmqaz42

If they are newish alarms they are suposed to be maintained. The NSAI and PSA audit the installers of these alarms to make sure that they are done correctly.
If they have been installed by an unlicenced nixer kings they can be prosecuted, as can the home owner.

You have rights, the EPA and council should be able to advise you in regard to noise.

Supercell

Tbh feckless, just move or invest in earplugs. Noise pollution is almost entirly in the ear of the beholder - what irritates one person doesnt bother another. Fight the powah is probably going to just stress you even further.

EasyFold

For me the worst is when your next doors decides to go away for the weekend and the alarm goes of on a Saturday morning. When you try and approach them they get upset and doesn't want to know anything.

Try and call the cops never worked for me either.

SimpleSam06

Longfield wrote: »

Tbh feckless, just move or invest in earplugs. Noise pollution is almost entirly in the ear of the beholder - what irritates one person doesnt bother another. Fight the powah is probably going to just stress you even further.

Wrong-o, my friend. Here's a guide to the noise pollution regulations and what you can do about it (PDF warning).

samantha27

maybe u should get an alarm also.Sounds like a lot of activity around your area.

The_Conductor

I have a handy little guide to noise pollution too- copy attached.

S.