Turn down the racket!

Summer time and the living is sometimes not so easy, writes Edel Morgan, when noise levels can drive people to despair - and court

It's summer time and soaring noise levels can make the living quite stressful, as a caller to a radio show complained recently. The hullabaloo coming from her neighbour's back garden had forced her to seek sanctuary indoors.

The trouble started when the neighbour acquired a trampoline. It wasn't the children she objected to but the adults who, after a few drinks, would mount the trampoline and shout "Wey-hey" over the garden wall each time they had lift-off.

Each summer can bring a cacophony of neighbourhood noise that, for some, can become intrusive or, at worst, intolerable. Intrepid trampolinists, garden parties raging until 4am, alcohol-fuelled domestic disputes aired in al-fresco surround sound and teenagers blaring Snoop Dogg from boom boxes in the park are often par for the course.

Mix this in with the sweet sounds of a distant jackhammer, multifarious strimmers or the obligatory nearby faulty alarm and you have a potentially head splitting combination.

There is a surge in the number of noise-related complaints to the local authorities between June and September, peaking in July. Part of the problem, says Martin Fitzpatrick of Dublin City Council's air pollution and noise control unit, is that people want to sleep with the windows open at night which exposes them to a medley of sounds from outside.

What happens though when the din is no longer a minor irritant but a serious assault on the eardrums? The Garda, unlike police forces in other EU countries, has no real powers to tackle noise offenders, other than asking them politely to desist .

"It's not really our baby at all," said a Garda spokeswoman, "it's a civil matter unless there is a breach of the peace. There would want to be fighting or throwing fisticuffs for us to get involved."

Local authorities are reluctant to get involved in noise disputes between neighbours, but one course of action is to make a complaint at the district court administration office under section 108 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992.

To be considered a nuisance, noise should be "so loud, so continuous, so repeated, of such duration or pitch or occurring at such times as to give reasonable cause or annoyance to a person in any premises in the neighbourhood or to a person lawfully using any public place".

If the noise is occasional or fleeting or happens during the day, the chances are you will be told to grin and bear it or try to reason with the offending neighbour.

The European Environmental Agency estimates that 450 million people - 65 per cent of the European population - are regularly exposed to more than 55 decibels which, if consistent and unwanted, can cause annoyance, aggression and sleep disturbance. About 113 million people experience 65 decibels and above, levels found to increase the risk of high blood pressure.

Those affected by noise can interpret it as a threat or invasion of their territory. Psychologist Ann Marie McMahon says living beside noise "like a dog barking or a baby crying or alarm going off constantly can induce feelings of frustration and helplessness, cause sleep deprivation, and stress and you can become worn out by it. When people come to me with stress-related complaints, it's usually caused by a combination of factors and the noise can be the last straw."

While the Department of the Environment does not collate nationwide data on noise complaints made to local authorities, Dublin City Council has recorded a rise in complaints from 335 in 1999 to 542 in 2003 to 685 last year. The largest number, 192, relates to the construction industry, with 55 to loud throbbing music from pubs and clubs. Last year the unit served 59 legal notices and made five prosecutions. More than 75 per cent of cases were solved out of court.

Martin Fitzpatrick believes the growing number of complaints is symptomatic of an increased public awareness of noise legislation and the relentless din generated by the construction frenzy of recent years. Increased outdoor drinking following the smoking ban has also contributed to the number of disgruntled residents. In modern communities where people are isolated from their neighbours, relatively minor noise-related disputes can fester and flare out of proportion.

The maximum district court fine imposed is €3,000 but those who go down that route can risk lingering bad feeling.

Solicitor Alison Fanagan, a partner at A & L Goodbody, says it is important, not necessarily to have a solicitor in court, "but some independent verification of the noise levels". The court does not require a complainant to bring sound tapes or diaries to court but Fanagan advises it.

She adds: "Judges hate getting involved in disputes between neighbours because these people have to live beside each other when it's all over."

A lot of these cases are settled before they go into court but if not, "the judge often doesn't award costs because it can add insult to injury and make for bad future relations. But if the other party makes particularly rude or insulting remarks, the judge might award costs."

With tolerance levels wearing thin in some neighbourhoods where people are throwing up extensions and building on every spare patch of garden, acoustic engineering consultant Karl Searson believes a little communication can save future strife.

"If you're doing building work you should really take into account the sensitivities of your neighbour, particularly if you are joined by a party wall," Searson says, "but some people have the attitude, 'this is my house and I'll do what I like'.

"Of all forms of pollution, noise has the most immediately devastating effect but it is also the easiest to resolve. If the will is there, it's just a matter of turning it off."