A bill proposed by Sinn Féin TD Maurice Quinlivan to make it illegal to resell tickets for a profit of more than 10% is not being opposed by the government.

There will also be consequences for those that sell tickets for extreme prices and breach the 10% limit, including fines up to €5000.

This is good news for concert goers and the law is also being supported by one of the major Irish concert organisers Aiken Productions. Peter Aiken has said to “give the public the opportunity to purchase a ticket on a fair and equal footing for all”. See his full statement below:

Ticketmaster Ireland however are opposed to the bill, as they believe this will be ineffective and would push the market underground, meaning customers will be exposed to cheating websites.

Ticketmaster own the main secondary ticket reseller Seatwave. They took the website over back in 2014, to give fans a second chance to buy tickets for concerts that sold out in minutes. However as we have reported before, this has led to tickets unrealistically selling out in seconds and then being resold for up to €1000.

In addition, sporting bodies like the FAI, the GAA and the IRFU have also made submissions. The FAI are in favour of the legislation, while the GAA also agree and state a change to the current legislation “would help protect consumers, our members and the organisation”. They state that in addition, “touting in its various forms should be classified as a criminal activity with appropriate penalties in place, whether this be on the street, on-line or private trading of tickets above face value or fraudulent tickets”. The IRFU have not taken a side in the situation although have said they “welcome the opportunity to enter into a further comprehensive consultation process”.

Fine Gael TD Noel Rock has been a big supporter of a bill like this, and actually proposed one a few months ago. Apparently it is being questioned within the Fine Gael party as to why Noel Rock’s original proposal is being sidelined.

Now Maurice Quinlivan has asked for cross party support for his bill saying “ticket touting has escalated in recent years. With advances in technology, the practice has grown from traditional touts selling counterfeit, cancelled or extortionately priced tickets outside venues, to online sites, in the grey of regulation”.

Ticket touting will (hopefully) be banned in Ireland under a new bill to be debated at the second stage in the Oireachtas this Thursday.