Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 22 May 2018

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

General Scheme of the Sale of Tickets (Sporting and Cultural Events) Bill 2017: Discussion

4:00 pm

Photo of Noel RockNoel Rock (Dublin North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My apologies to my Mayo colleagues. I believe that this market does not function as a normal market. People are cornering the market and making super-normal profits but it does not adhere to the normal standards we would apply to the traditional equation of supply and demand. People are cornering the market through bots and other means. They are profiteering greatly off this market. This is the genesis of my concern and that of Deputy Quinlivan and other Deputies.

There is potential that the operators of secondary markets will leave Ireland if we bring about rigorous legislation on ticket touting. We should not, however, be afraid of confronting the matter. Those who engage in this activity are, effectively, economic leeches. They do not add anything to the value of production of a concert or a sporting event. They snap up tickets in their tens or their hundreds with the sole intent and purpose of profiteering. In my opinion, and I imagine in the opinion of Deputy Quinlivan and others, that is not correct. This is where the fundamental breakdown comes between the opinion expressed in the submission from the officials and the opinion of Deputy Quinlivan in his speech. I do not believe this practice is correct.

I have some questions on a few aspects of the submission by the Department. With regard to the guarantee that secondary platforms give, while they guarantee access and will give a refund in the event of access being refused, there is no such guarantee as to the type of access one gets. Among the hundreds of emails about touting received by my office I have received many complaints from people where they are guaranteed a concert ticket to the best part of Croke Park, for example, where they will be practically able to touch Bono or Mick Jagger and in reality they end up with a restricted view seat up in the gods.

They are at the event - the ticket guarantee holds - but they have paid more than 20 times the face value of the ticket and have ended up with a sub-premium product so it is not fair to say that the secondary markets behave entirely altruistically and correctly and that their ticket guarantee holds entirely true.

I note the proof that was cited in several examples on the demand for tickets and where tickets are bought from. If I am not mistaken we are effectively taking their word for it. I presume we have not sent anybody in to look at their systems. That might be answered for me. I presume they have made a submission to us and we are entirely accepting their word for it. I wonder if that would be good enough in this day and age if this were another sector such as banking. Would officials from a Department and parliamentarians who are trying to scrutinise and legislate accept the word of the main beneficiaries when they say there are no problems in this market? It is obvious that Ticketmaster is the main primary seller and practically the only primary seller within this market. It owns the main secondary platform as well so there is a very clear interest there. It demands a higher standard of scrutiny of us and a higher standard of proof of it. I would appreciate it if the witnesses would come back to me on the type of proof we have got so far.

My other question is a follow-on from Deputy Quinlivan's question. Have any companies threatened to leave? Have they outlined plans to leave in their submissions to the witnesses in the event that either Bill was given effect and passed by the Oireachtas? Has that come up in their consultations, discussions or documentation to date?

Have they consulted the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, on their ongoing investigation in this sector? It is a serious investigation and I understand it is ongoing. It would be beneficial to all parties concerned were there a level of consultation in this regard, in light of both items of legislation that are currently before the Houses. I believe that should be borne into consideration before we make any decisions so I would like to hear if the witnesses have spoken to them.

I thank the witnesses again for coming in, I appreciate their time.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.