Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)

I am grateful to the Minister of State for allowing this Bill to proceed to Committee Stage. While every party has its own opinion on legislation and will endeavour to change it at every opportunity, the new spirit of multilateralism and co-operation is refreshing and welcome. I hope it is not just the Christmas spirit but will continue in the run up to the election and beyond. It is a positive approach when more Opposition Bills are examined on their merits, discussed on Committee Stage and amended if necessary. I will not get carried away, although this is a rare occasion, but an rud is annamh is iontach, ceapaim.

There are two aerodromes in my constituency of Dublin Mid-West — Baldonnel which is under the auspices of the Minister for Defence, and Weston Aerodrome which is now under the auspices of Mr. Jim Mansfield. Both are stalwarts within the Fianna Fáil organisation who have contributed in their own way towards that party. I have raised the issues of aerodromes previously by way of parliamentary questions and the Adjournment Debate. The Irish Aviation Authority has the wherewithal to deal with noise emanating from aerodromes, but in practice local authorities are supposed to monitor such noise and pass details to the IAA. However, every time I have asked the local authority about Weston Aerodrome, it states that it is a matter for the IAA. I also asked the Minister to make a judgment on this matter and he said it was for the IAA to decide. The IAA, meanwhile, says it is a matter for the local authority. The buck is being passed through this interaction.

The Bill is important as it would establish a one-stop shop allowing noise issues to be dealt with through a single agency with real power. Noise officers will be linked to local authorities so people will be able to get assistance easily. I hope this point will be taken on board on Committee Stage.

From my own selfish constituency point of view I would like to see the issue of aerodromes being dealt with. My constituents do not like having to live with such noise when no one can ascertain what the levels are or deal with the problem.

A more universal problem arises when neighbours cause noise. Recently, a constituent complained to me about noisy neighbours. It was not blaring music but they were shouting and generally behaving loudly. At the moment there is no mechanism for dealing with such a difficulty. One would want to have money to burn to take a court case and obtain an order against such a nuisance. The fact that the particular individuals happen to be from outside Ireland does not help because there are communication problems. The embarrassment of having to deal directly with noisy neighbours would be overcome by having a one-stop-shop with a noise control officer who could take the necessary action. In such circumstances, people would have confidence that the complaints process would be followed through confidentially.

The Bill provides for a warning system in addition to fixed penalties and fines. Its enactment would mean that if noisy people did not quieten down — whether the nuisance was caused by household noise, car alarms or helicopters — they would be dealt with appropriately. At the moment, there is no such mechanism unless one wants to take a private case. Local authorities are suffering from a lack of resources to deal with such issues effectively. If a single statutory body was dealing with noise issues, people could sleep better, thus avoiding the harmful effects of stress caused by unwanted noise.

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