King, Eoin A.Eoin A.KingMurphy, EndaEndaMurphyRice, Henry J.Henry J.Rice2011-06-292011-06-292011 Elsev2011-03Journal of Environmental Management0301-4797http://hdl.handle.net/10197/2992The first phase of noise mapping and action planning in Ireland, in accordance with EU Directive 2002/49/EC, is now complete. In total this included one agglomeration, one airport and approximately 600 km of major roads outside the agglomeration. These noise maps describe the level of noise exposure of approximately 1.25 million people. The first phase of noise mapping was dealt with by five noise mapping bodies while 26 action planning authorities were involved in the development of the associated action plans. The second phase of noise mapping, due to be completed in 2012, sees a reduction in the defined thresholds describing the required agglomerations, roads and railways that have to be mapped. This will have a significant impact on the extent of mapping required. In Ireland this will result in an increased number of local authorities being required to develop strategic noise maps for their area along with the further development of associated action plans. It is appropriate at this point to review the work process and results from the first phase of noise mapping in Ireland in order to establish areas that could be improved, throughout the noise mapping project. In this paper a review of the implementation procedures focussing on (dominant) road traffic noise is presented. It is identified that more standardisation is needed and this could be achieved by the establishment of a national expert steering group.198656 bytesapplication/mswordenThis is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Journal of Environmental Management. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 92, Issue 3, March 2011, Pages 756–764 DOI:10.1016/j.jenvman.2010.10.034 Elsevier Ltd.Strategic noise mappingNoise action planningEnvironmental Noise DirectiveNoise policyNoise--Ireland--MapsNoise control--Government policy--IrelandNoise pollution--Government policy--IrelandJournal Article92375676410.1016/j.jenvman.2010.10.034https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/