There has been a surge in the number of older people granted personal security alarms under a Government scheme — even though there has been an underspend in recent years of the budget available for the devices.

There’s always that one car alarm going off no matter what neighbourhood you live in.

Budgetary watchdog the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council has put the Coalition on notice to change its budget in October because it believes plans for spending hikes and tax cuts will fall foul of the “letter and spirit” of Europe’s strict fiscal rules.

Police were alerted to an intruder alarm at the scene of a £200m safety deposit raid in Britain — but decided it did not require response.