Sir, – Once again, what should have been a pleasant evening in the garden has been blighted by the jarring sound of an intruder alarm. This one is not too close – if it were it would be unbearable to the extent that I would have to employ ear protectors – but the pitch is obviously designed to be as nasty as possible. They are supposed to “only” last for 20 minutes, but this one seems to be able to reset itself so that, after a short period of silence, it starts again.
These alarms almost always sound as false alarms. We have the technology now to ensure that the most cost-effective security system should be monitored. This should be made compulsory, and external bells should be outlawed completely. This would ensure that owners and occupiers would take greater care to ensure that there were no false alarms – it is clear that the preponderance of these greatly dilutes effectiveness as they are more likely to be ignored if people do not believe they are genuine. But equally importantly, it would also eliminate the very serious collateral damage that is suffered by neighbours and the public when this heinous noise is perpetrated upon them.
They seem to be able to manage these matters better elsewhere. Prolonged visits to other European cities can be looked forward to as a respite from this torture. – Yours, etc,
SEAMUS McKENNA,
Windy Arbour,
Dublin 14.