Labour MEP for Dublin, Emer Costello, has welcomed the roll-out of 1,200 hi-tech sensors to monitor key "quality of life" breaches across Dublin including noise levels, temperature pollution, flood alerts.

However, she said the initiative must be part of a wider plan to make Dublin a 'smarter' city for all its residents.

She said: "The new sensors will be distributed across the capital and in areas such as Cabra, Drumcondra, Ringsend and Donnybrook. They will monitor and alert Dublin City Council to situations where noise or air quality levels in Dublin have been breached and allow DCC to assess and address these breaches.

"The new sensors should be of great assistance, for example, to residents who live near nightclubs or other establishments where there are frequently unacceptably high noise levels.

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"Initiatives such as these can really make a difference to the everyday lives of Dubliners and there is great potential in this area. Some other cities, for example, have rolled-out air quality apps that let hayfever sufferers in the city avoid areas that are experiencing particularly high pollen levels on any given day.

"One of my priorities as Lord Mayor of Dublin in 2009/10 was the development of Dublin as a creative, innovative, outward and forward looking city.

"And one of the key themes of the Lord Mayor's Commission on Employment that I established was to ensure that Dublin utilised the smartest and most diverse technologies to drive job creation and investment in Dublin and also to enhance the quality of life of all Dubliners.

"I have been building on this work in the European Parliament and I recently hosted an exhibition of Dublin as a 'Smart, Connected and Sustainable City,' in Brussels. This was an important showcase for Dublin at a European-wide level and allowed 12 Dublin-based employers and innovators access to potential key European partners.

"Exhibitors included Intel, Innovation Dublin, The Green Way and scientists from UCD, DCU, DIT, and Trinity College. The €80 billion European Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme is also currently being finalized and I will fight to secure a strong funding deal out of this programme for Dublin."

(CD/JP)