A ban on amplified music in Dublin’s Temple Bar Square is one of the amendments to busking by-laws passed by city councillors.
It was passed by 27 votes to 26 with one abstention.
Councillors also voted to ban all busking outside the recently refurbished Crampton Buildings residential complex in Temple Bar.
However, a Fine Gael motion to ban all amplified street performers across the city was heavily defeated by 44 votes to nine with one abstention.
The councillors also agreed to allow wind instruments including Uilleann pipes and percussion instruments, along with acoustic instruments, to be played along the street in Temple Bar except outside Crampton Buildings.
Most of Temple Bar’s main street from the junction with Anglesea St to Essex St now has a ban on amplified music.
The rest of the amendments proposed by the Arts Committee were passed including a ban on backing tracks across the city.
Other changes to the by-laws include a relaxation of the prohibition on busking outside the GPO, which would now be allowed on evenings during the week and all day Sunday.
The two-hour performance time will start from the top of the hour and would be limited to one hour on Grafton St. A new two-week permit will be allowed for visiting musicians.
Performers will be required to have a 30-minute repertoire to prevent repetition.
There will be a probationary period for new buskers and three breaches of the by-laws would allow a busker permit to be revoked. However a new appeal process has also been included.
Dance and circus acts will be restricted to the St Stephen’s Green end of Grafton St.
There will be a specific ban on activities such as face painting, fortune telling and games of chance that involve payment for goods or services.
The issue of bands selling CDs will be dealt with under casual trading legislation.
Further restrictions on the use of amplifiers will be considered in September.
Source: RTE NEWS
