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A couple whose home in south Dublin is close to the Luas green line have claimed before the High Court they have been exposed to very serious and aggravating noise on a daily basis since the Luas went into operation four years ago.
Paula and Vincent Smyth, of Cambridge Terrace, Leeson Park, Dublin, have brought proceedings against the Railway Procurement Agency and Veolia Transport Ireland Ltd, who operate the Luas on behalf of the agency. The Attorney General is a notice party to the case.
The couple want injunctions restraining the defendants operating the Luas in a manner that causes a noise nuisance and requiring them to erect an appropriate barrier to reduce the noise. They are also seeking damages.
The defendants deny the claims, contend the Luas is being operated in accordance with the terms of the Transport Light Rail Acts of 1996 and 2001 and also plead that the operation of the Luas under those Acts cannot as a matter of law give rise to the nuisance alleged.
Opening the case before Ms Justice Mary Laffoy today, Seamus Woulfe SC, for the couple, said their enjoyment of their home has been “severely undermined and compromised” due to noise from the Luas since it began operating in July 2004.
He said the Smyth’s back garden was in close proximity to elevated sections of the Luas Line running between Sandyford and St Stephens Green.
During the planning stages of the Luas in the late 1990’s the Smyths, who have lived at Leeson Park since 1992, believed special noise reduction screens would be erected at certain sensitive locations where the light rail would pass, counsel said.
