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Permanent project revision

Dublin Ambient Sound Monitoring Network: Measuring Noise Without a Limit

Revision 2026-09-25-baseline · effective 2026-09-25

Current revision. This is the snapshot used by the live entity page.

unreviewed

Created the first structured Evidence Passport with 19 claims and 8 source dossiers.

sha256:94320e3766f5f67d8084268d07b44486a9708301a6d87a2f6b2164fc7682ebc7
All revisions → Current entity page →

Change set

  • add /evidencePassport — Added claim-level evidence mapping and source dossiers.
  • add /revisionHistory — Established a permanent, hash-addressed baseline revision.
19
of 19 claims mapped
8
source dossiers
5
publication dates recorded
0
archives linked
0
exact locators
0
content captures hashed

Claims, one by one

The text below is copied verbatim from the published record. Each claim names the source dossiers that carry it; caveats stay attached to the claim they qualify.

Claim 1 clm-7c401577d2933754 quantitative
began installing a permanent ambient sound monitoring network in 2009
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The 2010 annual report: 'Dublin City Council commenced the installation of a permanent ambient sound monitoring network in 2009.'
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Dublin City Council, Ambient Sound Monitoring Network annual report for 2010 (operator)
Claim 2 clm-b9ff427f8e396bc7 quantitative
had eleven locations running by 2010
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The 2010 report: 'The network currently consists of eleven monitoring locations', listing them from Ashtown to Chancery Park, the monitor added in 2010.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Dublin City Council, Ambient Sound Monitoring Network annual report for 2010 (operator)
Claim 3 clm-9ba087f14771babc quantitative
it now reports monitoring stations at 14 sites across the city
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The council's page: 'Dublin City Council has established noise monitoring stations as 14 sites throughout the city.' The Dublin Inquirer in 2019 also describes 'one of the 14 monitors the ASMN uses'.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Dublin City Council, near real-time noise monitoring page (operator)
  2. Dublin Inquirer, Dublin Is Getting Noisier (media)
Claim 4 clm-ac158e4e4e6484be descriptive
The monitors log sound continuously in five-minute periods
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The 2010 report: 'The monitoring network measures continuously, 5 minute parcels of sound right throughout the year.' The dataset page: 'The sound level meters store continuous 5 minute sound pressure levels'.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Dublin City Council, Ambient Sound Monitoring Network annual report for 2010 (operator)
  2. data.gov.ie, Ambient Sound Monitoring Network DCC dataset (national open-data portal)
Claim 5 clm-0ae9fbc30d4f3d05 descriptive
are deliberately kept away from kerbside traffic, so that no single source dominates
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The council's page: 'The sites were selected, as far as possible, so that no one sound source (traffic, for instance) dominates over every other sound. For this reason, sound monitors are not placed at kerbside locations beside heavy flows of traffic.'
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Dublin City Council, near real-time noise monitoring page (operator)
  2. Dublin City Council, Ambient Sound Monitoring Network annual report for 2010 (operator)
Claim 6 clm-4d495a1a138d7524 descriptive
Sonitus Systems manufactures the hardware and maintains the network
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The supplier's own statement: 'The noise monitoring hardware is manufactured and the network maintained by Sonitus Systems.'
Caveat
This is the supplier's own account; the council's pages do not describe the maintenance contract.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Sonitus Systems, Dublin air and noise portal launch (vendor)
Claim 7 clm-4bfc938f1720b6ed quantitative
the readings have been public online since at least 2016
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
Smart Dublin's page of 2 March 2016 invites visitors to 'View live readings from sound level monitors' and links the council's noise website.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Smart Dublin, Dublin City Noise (city programme)
Claim 8 clm-c431ade137048562 quantitative
on a joint air-and-noise portal since 2020
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The supplier's post of 6 March 2020 announces the newly launched dublincityairandnoise.ie, providing 'ongoing, real time public access to Dublin City Council's air quality and sound level monitoring network'.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Sonitus Systems, Dublin air and noise portal launch (vendor)
Claim 9 clm-d1a63cb478c53040 quantitative
through an open API under a CC BY 4.0 licence
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The national portal lists Dublin City Council's API, which 'also provides access to Dublin City Council's network of environmental sound level monitors', licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. data.gov.ie, Noise and Air Quality Monitoring API DCC (national open-data portal)
Claim 10 clm-2084372cee69fb9e descriptive
The readings trigger nothing.
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
None of the council's sources describes a threshold that sets off any action. The 2010 report states there are no statutory limits for ambient sound; the portal says the information 'is used to generate plans for reducing noise exposure and for making better environmental policy decisions'; and the council's noise official told councillors the monitors track 'the on-going, ambient mix of sound', not nuisance noise.
Caveat
This describes the monitoring network; noise nuisance complaints are handled through a separate council process.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Dublin City Council, Ambient Sound Monitoring Network annual report for 2010 (operator)
  2. Dublin City Air & Noise, Dublin Noise Management (operator portal)
  3. Dublin Inquirer, Dublin Is Getting Noisier (media)
Claim 11 clm-430547f37703bf8a quantitative
The council's own 2010 report notes there are no legally binding statutory limits for ambient sound levels
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The 2010 report: 'There are no legally binding statutory limits for ambient sound levels, similar to currently existing air quality standards. However the levels outlined below are used for guidance and comparison purposes.'
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Dublin City Council, Ambient Sound Monitoring Network annual report for 2010 (operator)
Claim 12 clm-ac4a3354a2042355 descriptive
as a check on the strategic noise maps
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The dataset page: 'The sound monitoring network helps to validate the noise mapping grid dataset'.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. data.gov.ie, Ambient Sound Monitoring Network DCC dataset (national open-data portal)
Claim 13 clm-c361be4cc70fcc18 descriptive
as input to plans for reducing noise exposure
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The portal: 'This information is used to generate plans for reducing noise exposure and for making better environmental policy decisons.'
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Dublin City Air & Noise, Dublin Noise Management (operator portal)
Claim 14 clm-5aa2884e51053f61 quantitative
average ambient levels rising four decibels between 2012 and 2018 — daytime from 57 to 61 decibels, night-time from 52 to 56
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The Inquirer: 'The average ambient sound levels across the city's whole sound-monitoring network increased four decibels between 2012 and 2018. Daytime levels have gone from an average of 57 decibels to an average of 61 decibels during that time, and night-time levels have increased from 52 to 56 decibels.'
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Dublin Inquirer, Dublin Is Getting Noisier (media)
Claim 15 clm-be563d732a3e96e4 descriptive
the council's noise official attributed part of the rise to weather and said most sites had been reasonably consistent over five years
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The Inquirer quotes the council's Brian McManus: 'Our feeling is that increase is partly due to different weather conditions', and reports that when that is stripped out, most sites have been reasonably consistent over the last five years.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Dublin Inquirer, Dublin Is Getting Noisier (media)
Claim 16 clm-921ce80f9b2e7f1c descriptive
A network sited so that no one source dominates is built to describe a city's overall soundscape
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The 2010 report: 'The aim is to measure total ambient sound without one source dominating another'; the council's page says sites were chosen so that no one sound source dominates.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Dublin City Council, Ambient Sound Monitoring Network annual report for 2010 (operator)
  2. Dublin City Council, near real-time noise monitoring page (operator)
Claim 17 clm-f29bdbca87407b9e quantitative
low-noise stone mastic asphalt on 41 percent of the council's 2018 resurfacing
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The Inquirer: the Noise Action Plan 2018–2023 contains a commitment to low-noise road surfaces, 'And out of all the council's road surfacing last year, 41 percent was with a particular kind of low-noise road surface – stone mastic asphalt.'
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Dublin Inquirer, Dublin Is Getting Noisier (media)
Claim 18 clm-554c024f24850f86 quantitative
a sound assessment that found no decibel reduction when speeds fell from 50 to 30 km/h
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The Inquirer reports McManus saying 'a sound assessment before by-laws reducing speed, didn't find any reduction in decibel levels when the speeds went from 50 to 30 kph.'
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Dublin Inquirer, Dublin Is Getting Noisier (media)
Claim 19 clm-0cd3c42821f131cd descriptive
came through the noise action plan and separate studies
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The Inquirer attributes the low-noise surfacing to a commitment in the Noise Action Plan 2018–2023 and the speed finding to a separate sound assessment carried out before speed by-laws.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Dublin Inquirer, Dublin Is Getting Noisier (media)

Source dossiers and revision state

This layer records what is known about each source, what is still missing, and the exact snapshot this page is rendering. A missing date, archive or hash stays visible as missing.

unreviewed Revision 2026-09-25-baseline effective 2026-09-25 · created 2026-09-25

Awaiting operator and domain-expert review; publication of this revision implies neither.

sha256:94320e3766f5f67d8084268d07b44486a9708301a6d87a2f6b2164fc7682ebc7
Revision history → Permanent version link → Machine-readable record → Evidence Constitution →
19
of 19 claims mapped
8
source dossiers
5
publication dates recorded
0
archives linked
0
exact locators
0
content captures hashed

Governance facts carried by the record

Operator
Dublin City Council (air quality monitoring and noise control); hardware manufactured and network maintained by Sonitus Systems
Actor types
city-government, private
Funding model
Not recorded
Funding description
Not recorded
Cost
Not recorded
Ownership
Not recorded
Decision rights
Not recorded
Exit conditions
Not recorded

8 source dossiers

Dublin City Council, near real-time noise monitoring page (operator) dublincity.ie · 3 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-cfdef7cbcadda141
Publisher
Name not classified · dublincity.ie
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-09-25
Dossier created
2026-09-25
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

The council's standing page: noise monitoring stations at 14 sites throughout the city, near real-time access through dublincityairandnoise.ie, and sites chosen so that no one sound source dominates — monitors are not placed kerbside beside heavy traffic.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Dublin City Council, Ambient Sound Monitoring Network annual report for 2010 (operator) dublincity.ie · 7 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-9c084aef5f7ec719
Publisher
Name not classified · dublincity.ie
Type / language
pdf · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-09-25
Dossier created
2026-09-25
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Second annual report of the network, by the council's Traffic Noise & Air Quality Unit: installation of a permanent network began in 2009, a Chancery Park monitor was added in 2010, the network then had eleven locations, sound is measured continuously in five-minute periods, and Ireland had no legally binding statutory limits for ambient sound levels — the guideline values are for guidance and comparison.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Sonitus Systems, Dublin air and noise portal launch (vendor) sonitussystems.com · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-2dbf55ded0622954
Publisher
Name not classified · sonitussystems.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2020-03-06
Updated
2022-04-04
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-09-25
Dossier created
2026-09-25
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

The supplier's account of the launch of dublincityairandnoise.ie, built on its Sonitus Cloud platform. It states that the noise monitoring hardware is manufactured and the network maintained by Sonitus Systems, and that Dublin City Council was its first customer more than 12 years earlier.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Smart Dublin, Dublin City Noise (city programme) smartdublin.ie · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-990f46716ea7196d
Publisher
Name not classified · smartdublin.ie
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2016-03-02
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-09-25
Dossier created
2026-09-25
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Smart Dublin's page on Dublin City Noise: live readings from sound level monitors, trends and location comparisons, colour-coded data searchable by day, month and location, an API for developers, and a website managed by Sonitus Systems.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
data.gov.ie, Noise and Air Quality Monitoring API DCC (national open-data portal) data.gov.ie · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-5fa3e46dfa62374a
Publisher
Name not classified · data.gov.ie
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2022-06-14
Updated
2025-04-15
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-09-25
Dossier created
2026-09-25
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Dublin City Council's dataset entry for an API giving continuous real-time and historic readings from its air quality stations and its network of environmental sound level monitors, licensed Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
data.gov.ie, Ambient Sound Monitoring Network DCC dataset (national open-data portal) data.gov.ie · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-968e57f37edf4cc3
Publisher
Name not classified · data.gov.ie
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2017-12-20
Updated
2021-10-21
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-09-25
Dossier created
2026-09-25
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Archived spreadsheets from the council's sound monitors covering 2010 to 2017, under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. States that the sound level meters store continuous five-minute sound pressure levels and that the network helps to validate the noise mapping grid dataset.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Dublin City Air & Noise, Dublin Noise Management (operator portal) dublincityairandnoise.ie · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-0f537f3530a57768
Publisher
Name not classified · dublincityairandnoise.ie
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-09-25
Dossier created
2026-09-25
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

The public portal's explanation of the network: monitors placed where they are of value to the community or indicate levels from major sources, sound measured 24 hours a day, and the information used to generate plans for reducing noise exposure and for environmental policy decisions.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Dublin Inquirer, Dublin Is Getting Noisier (media) dublininquirer.com · 7 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-eb5e7c658abdf6e8
Publisher
Name not classified · dublininquirer.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2019-05-08
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-09-25
Dossier created
2026-09-25
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Report on figures from the council's Ambient Sound Monitoring Network: 14 monitors, average levels up four decibels between 2012 and 2018, the council's noise official attributing part of it to weather, the monitors tracking ambient rather than nuisance noise, 41 percent of 2018 resurfacing in low-noise stone mastic asphalt, and a sound assessment finding no decibel reduction when speeds fell from 50 to 30 km/h.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Known limits of this passport
  • Publisher names and source languages have not yet been classified; domains are recorded without guessing.
  • Existing source notes are descriptive locators, not page- or paragraph-exact citations.
  • A missing archive, publication date or content hash is shown as null rather than inferred.
  • The project-level evidence grade ranks the strongest source in the entry; it is not a truth score for every claim.