New busking bye-laws introduced in Limerick - and it's bad news for those who use speakers

LIMERICK City and County Council have brought in a raft of new bye-laws which govern street performing and busking locally.

And those who break the new rules may face a fine of up to €150.

Chief among the new by-laws, which came into effect earlier this month, is a prohibition on musicians using speakers to amplify the sound of their tunes.

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On top of this, anyone who is under 16 may only perform where a legal guardian is present during the course of this.

Performances are not allowed before 10am and after 11pm each day. Although there is an exception to this, where an act does not generate any noise.

Council has defined this as “silent acts such as human statues, pavement art” and “balloon modelling”.

Any busker has just two hours to perform in a public place. If they wish to continue, they must then relocate to a separate area more than 100m outside the place they were before.

The council bye-laws state that while any busker shall not perform within 100 metres of another, no-one has an exclusive right to a pitch.

Repetition of tracks must be avoided - and no song should be repeated in a one hour space.

The information was confirmed to Labour councillor Padraigh Reale this month.