Buskers’ amplifiers not banned under new draft bylaws

Appeals by Dublin residents and businesses for buskers to be banned from using amplifiers on the city’s streets have fallen on deaf ears.

Dublin City Council is in the process of devising bylaws that will for the first time regulate street performances in the city, requiring buskers to buy annual permits to perform on the streets and setting time limits on performances.

Draft bylaws were last November made available for public consultation and almost 90 submissions were received. More than 80 per cent said their main concern was excessive noise and half of those sought an outright ban on amplification.

However assistant chief executive Brendan Kenny said banning amplifiers "may be too extreme" and he instead recommended introducing a sound limit of 80 decibels in the immediate vicinity of the performer.

“There is a case for banning the use of amplifiers, but we are not planning to do this here,” he told councillors.

The council instead proposed to designate a “public domain officer” to patrol the city measuring noise levels created by buskers. Those found to be consistently exceeding 80 decibels would have their permit revoked, and could be removed from the street by gardaí.

Several councillors raised concerns that the noise limit would be difficult to enforce and Independent councillor Mannix Flynn said a ban on amplifiers should be introduced on a six-month trial basis. But the councillors, who are members of the council’s arts committee, agreed to a noise limit proposal. Annual permits will cost €30, but €60 for those using amplifiers.

A number of other changes were made to the bylaws following the public consultation. It had been intended to allow busking in Grafton Street until 1am, but this has been scaled back to 11pm. Busking will not be permitted later than 11pm in any part of the city.

A proposed ban on busking in Temple Bar had been discounted last November by councillors. However following a number of submissions from Temple Bar residents, the draft bylaws will ban buskers from part of Temple Bar between the junction at Fownes Street and Temple Lane South and on East Essex Street between the junction at Temple Lane South and Eustace Street.

The proposal to ban the use of knives, swords, saws, axes and flames has also been dropped from the bylaws.

The draft bylaws will be submitted for approval by the full city council next month.