Sir, – Colm Keena’s article on sirens and alarm bells ringing in the streets of Dublin City was interesting (Opinion Analysis, August 29th). I believe the unnecessary sounds generated in our living rooms by radio and television can be even more annoying and even distressing. With television, you have some control over noise with the remote, but not usually with the radio.
By far the worst culprit for unnecessary sounds is our own RTÉ radio. There is an ear-splitting fanfare before and after every commercial break, weather forecast, news bulletin and programme introduction. Even at 2am, the news headlines are preceded by a reverberating cacophony that would wake the dead. Today with Pat Kenny is introduced every morning with a head-wrecking racket that seems to go on for ever.
Listeners have to endure the frequent shrieks of Joe Duffy’s name during his afternoon show, and the evening Drivetime programme is almost a wall of sound with strident, reverberating jingles before and after every ad break.
Even the Angelus blasts away with 18 bongs over 60 seconds. Even a car alarm is limited to a maximum of 25 seconds under EU standards. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Over the past few years I have come to the conclusion that a majority of the Irish people are partially deaf. This is the only explanation for the general lack of sympathy for those who suffer significantly from the many noise sources mentioned in Colm Keena’s article.
Faulty, badly fitted or ill-maintained intruder alarms and barking dogs are two things that are of particular concern.
Those citizens that possess normal or sensitive hearing are an oppressed minority. It is therefore up to the Government to protect their wellbeing.
At the very least, the statutory 20 minutes that false alarms are allowed to sound should be reduced to five minutes. – Yours, etc,