Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I indicated in a recent reply to the Deputy, my Department is currently working with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, OPC, on the preparation of amendments to the Prohibition of Above-cost Ticket Touting Bill 2017. While good progress is being made on these amendments and it is my aim to finalise them as soon as possible, it is not possible to provide a precise timeframe for their completion. I would very much like to see the Bill progress more quickly, but this has not been possible for a number of reasons. As the Deputy will be aware, the OPC had to prioritise Brexit-related legislation in the first quarter of this year.

A case submitted to the Court of Justice of the European Free Trade Association, EFTA, States, or EFTA Court, earlier this year raised issues regarding the compatibility with EU law of the prohibition on unauthorised ticket resale in the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006. Given the potential implications of the case for our proposed legislation, the Government decided that Ireland should submit written observations to the court and the preparation of these observations required a considerable commitment of time by the officials dealing with the Bill.

During the trilogue negotiations on a proposed directive on the better enforcement and modernisation of EU consumer protection legislation, agreement was reached on an amendment from the European Parliament prohibiting the sale of tickets acquired through the use of bot software. As one of the amendments to the ticket touting Bill approved by Government related to the use of bots to purchase tickets, the examination of, and discussions on, this provision also took up a considerable amount of time. As its adoption could have constrained our ability to introduce domestic legislation on ticket resale, I am glad to be able to report that, along with a number of other member states, we were successful in having a provision included in the directive which recognises the right of member states to introduce additional national measures, including measures regulating the resale price of tickets.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

As I also indicated, it will be necessary to submit the amended Bill to the European Commission in accordance with Directive (EU) 2015/1535 on the procedure for the provision of information on technical regulations and rules on information society services. The directive requires member states to postpone the adoption of legislation within its scope for three months from the date of its submission to the Commission.

I intend to honour the commitment given to the organisation referred to in the details submitted by the Deputy. Officials of my Department have been in contact with that organisation regarding the timeframe for the enactment of provisions relating to the sale of tickets for the Euro 2020 championship. The organisation has indicated that it is satisfied with the proposed timeframe.

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