A PRIVATE MEMBER’S Bill that could prevent above-cost touting of tickets is intended to be published this autumn.
Fine Gael TD for Dublin North West, Noel Rock, said he intends to publish the Bill that, if passed, could end the practice of ticket touting for sports and music events.
Rock said sports lovers are “routinely gouged by people who seek to take advantage and make a profit for themselves”.
Most of us who love sport hate seeing this kind of behaviour. Touting of tickets sees people routinely gouged for multiple of the original price of a ticket – this isn’t right.
While I understand that sometimes you need to sell tickets when you can’t attend an event, we also believe that you should not take advantage of people and try to make a profit when doing so.This seeks to protect people who are selling while preventing people from profiteering unfairly.
The Dublin North West TD said he hopes it will be debated and passed in the Dáil this autumn. He said the legislation was “straightforward” and has been sent to the Department of Justice for feedback.
Ticket-touting for profit
“This Bill would put an end to ticket touting for profit,” he said, adding that this was not the first time politicians in Leinster House had discussed the issue.
“This is not a novel idea and has been proposed by my party twice in the past.”
Similar legislation was proposed by now-Minister Denis Naughten in 1998, and then by former Minister Alan Shatter and Denis Naughten together in 2005.
At the time, Fine Gael’s Jimmy Deenihan said the Prohibition of Ticket Touts Bill had support from the IRFU, the FAI, the GAA and Ticketmaster. He said Ticketmaster said it was a genuine attempt to tackle the scourge of touts.
Deenihan pointed out that the US had laws to cover this activity, which is referred to as ticket scalping, while legislation in England forbids the sale of tickets near sports grounds.
Rock was quick to point out that while the proposed new laws would stop everyday ticket touting at concerts and sports events in Ireland, it would not have in any way prevented the debacle in Rio.
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