Powers For Gardai To Silence Noisy Alarms

New proposals by the Irish Environment Minister may mean Gardaí could soon be given the power to force their way into homes simply in order to disable annoying property alarms,.

If the consultation paper issued by John Gormley goes through the intention is to curb the level of noise pollution associated with faulty alarms and also suggests allowing gardaí to issue on-the-spot fines to noisy neighbours.

Mr Gormley said EU legislation has forced a reduction in volume from machinery, trains and planes, but what he terms "noise nuisance" remains from cars, anti-social behaviour and alarms.

However, questions have been raised over whether the proposals would indeed be lawful, and have gone to the Attorney General to gauge if there are any constitutional difficulties with their implementation.

The Minister plans to empower gardaí enabling them to force their way into homes where alarms have been going off for a long period of time.

Mr Gormley also wants to give gardaí the same powers as local authority officers, so that they can issue on-the-spot fines to neighbours who, for example, hold late night parties.

Currently gardaí cannot issue fines or take action against noisy residents.

The public consultation ends in late October and Mr Gormley said he hopes to have legislation ready by next March.

(DW)