Your Rights on Noise Pollution
Noise pollution is more than just an annoyance issue – it can impact your mental and physical health and your overall quality of life.
Long-term exposure to excessive environmental noise can interfere with your daily activities, cause sleep disturbance and stress.
Noise is caused by a number of activities, with the most common sources in Ireland being from road traffic, railways, and aircraft. Other causes are construction, factories, and domestic noise, such as from neighbours partying.
You have the right to peaceful enjoyment of your property, including being free from excessive noise. There are obligations placed on the State, the EPA and local authorities under national and EU law to take measures to prevent and limit noise pollution, including to investigate and take action on noise complaints.
Below, you will find step-by-step guidelines that can help you understand those rights.
(Last Updated – March 2026)
This act makes the EPA, the government and your local authority responsible for controlling noise pollution. It gives local authorities the power to serve notices ordering the prevention or limiting of noise.
It also allows local authorities or members of the public to make a noise complaint to the District Court if noise is very loud, continuous, repeated or occurs at unreasonable times.
These Regulations designate the EPA as Ireland’s ‘National Authority’ for noise mapping and the preparation of Noise Actions Plans to reduce the harmful effects of noise pollution.
The Regulations transpose the EU Environmental Noise Directive.
The Regulations require the EPA and local authorities to carry out strategic noise mapping for specific sources such as major roads, railways, airports. Authorities can take measures like redesigning roadways, reducing speed limits, and creating low noise emission zones.
If your concern relates to road traffic noise on national roads or a motorway, then you should report the issue to Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII).
They can inform you of any planned works in the area or noise monitoring which being carried out. TII are also responsible for updating national noise maps for all major roads, available here.
If you concern relates to road traffic noise on local roads, you should report the issue to the relevant section of your local authority.
You can also report the issue to your HSE Environmental Health Officer. They can advise you if the relevant noise pollution is within their responsibility or not.
If your concern relates to noise from a factory or industrial site, and if the site is licenced by the EPA, you can make a complaint to the EPA.
You can search for sites licenced by the EPA on the EPA’s LEAP database.
The EPA can take steps to enforce the terms of a notice to control noise, tell the body to specific actions to prevent or limit the noise. If party responsible does not comply, the EPA can prosecute them for this.
If your concern relates to domestic noise, such as from a neighbour’s party, you can contact An Garda Síochána. For concerns related to licenced venues like bars or nightclubs, you can contact your local authority.
If you concern relates to persistent noise issues from private rented property, and you have already tried to resolve the issue with the tenants and the landlord, but this has not helped, you can contact the Residential Tenancies Board.
If you have tried all other avenues but this has not helped resolve your noise complaint, you can make a complaint to the District Court.
The noise in question must be very loud, continuous, repeated or occurs at unreasonable times, in order to make a District Court complaint.
This right is provided for under Section 108 of the EPA Act 1992, as amended.
You can request the relevant complaint form from your local District Court Office. You will have to pay a fee to submit a complaint. If the District Court accepts your complaint, it may order the party responsible to take measures to prevent or limit the noise.
Further information on noise pollution and where to make a noise complaint is available on the EPA’s website here.