Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 2 June 2021

Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Sale of Tickets (Cultural, Entertainment, Recreational and Sporting Events) Bill 2021: Committee Stage

Photo of Robert TroyRobert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In all of the Deputy's amendments up to this point I could where she was coming from and I have taken them in the spirit in which they were tabled. Likewise, I take this amendment in the spirit in which it is proposed, but I disagree with it. The amendment proposes the deletion of section 9(4), which provides that the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment may prescribe a fee to accompany an application for the designation of an event under section 9(1). While section 9(4) provides that the Minister "may" provide a fee for the designation of an event, it does not require the Minister to do so.

The Bill has been introduced, in part, following demands from sporting bodies and event promoters that Government take action to tackle ticket touting. There are means such as personalised and paperless tickets available to promoters and sporting bodies that would make it more difficult for ticket touts to resell tickets for gain. These options involve costs for event organisers. The enactment of this Bill will result in the cost of tackling ticket touting instead being largely borne by the State. It is not, in my opinion, unreasonable, therefore, to include a provision under which promoters and sporting bodies who will benefit from the legislation may be required to pay a fee for the designation of their venues or events. Any such fee would be set by reference to the administrative costs incurred in processing applications for designation and will not be used as a revenue raising measure.

While Deputy O’Reilly’s amendment proposes to delete the provision authorising fees for applications for event designation, it leaves untouched the provision at section 7(3) which permits the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to prescribe a fee for applications for the designation of a venue. This is, presumably, because venue designations will cover all events in a venue over a long period of time and are more likely to be applied for by the operators of large venues. Event designations by contrast will generally apply only to a single time-limited event. A situation in which fees can be charged for one type of application for designation and not for another is open to question, however, and, depending on the level of the fee, could lead some venue operators to apply for a series of event designations rather than a more permanent venue designation.

The aspiration and thought-process is that any such fee would be set by reference to the administrative costs incurred in processing the application and this provision will not be used as a revenue raising measure.

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