A 55-year-old garda who claimed he had become profoundly deaf after being exposed to the constant noise of barking dogs has been awarded €15,000 by the High Court.
Thomas Donnelly, of the Garda Dogs Unit, took his action against the Garda Commissioner, the Minister for Justice and the Attorney General.
Garda Donnelly told the court he joined the dog handling unit in 1979 and was working with German shepherd dogs who barked constantly.
He claimed there was no sound abatement equipment in the vans and he was not provided with hearing protection.
Mr Justice John Quirke said he was satisfied that Mr Donnelly suffered significant permanent and irreversible noise related hearing damage as a result of exposure to excessive levels of noise from barking dogs between 1979 and November 2001.
The judge said most of the damage was caused between 1979 and July 1990.
But the judge said Garda Donnelly had failed to establish that this was the result of negligence or breach of any other duty on the part of the State.
Mr Justice Quirke said Garda Donnelly sustained additional damage to his hearing between July 1990 and November 2001 and that this damage was the result of the State's negligence and breaches of regulations introduced by the State in 1990.
