Seanad debates

Monday, 5 July 2021

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

 

10:30 am

Photo of Mark WallMark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I look forward to colleagues sharing all their tickets at face value when Kildare are in the all-Ireland this year, but more of that anon. I too welcome the Minister of State to the House. The Bill is welcomed by the Labour Party, by all sport and music fans and by all those who purchase tickets to attend events in the country.

We should take the opportunity to mention the workers in the events industry. They have gone through such difficult times in the past 14 months. and hopefully they are beginning to see some light with the opening up of their industry.

We are looking forward to getting back to attending live sport, music and arts events once again. We welcome the pilot programmes proposed by the Government and cannot wait for the maximum number of persons to return to these events once again. One club got two tickets for yesterday's Leinster Championship match. They were raffled between 120 members. This brings it back and shows how scarce tickets can be for so many events, albeit the pandemic was the cause for this particular scarcity. Thankfully, the Lilywhites overcame Offaly yesterday and the scramble in club draws will continue until the next day. I imagine the Minister of State will also be on the lookout for tickets, given the opposition we will face in the forthcoming match.

Being able to attend local GAA matches and seeing my nieces and nephews play in the past week showed to me the human need of all Irish people for the enjoyment of live sport. There can be no doubt about the joy that these matches brought to so many in the GAA fields. We must never underestimate the value of live events to the human spirit.

I wish to mention one important aside. Colleagues of the Minister of State have brought this up and I am sure the Minister of State is aware of it. There have been calls for an end to pay-per-view matches. This only brings home the enjoyment of live matches when people are not in a position to look in or are unable to attend and support their counties. We must ensure that all our championship matches are free to air.

It is in the context of ensuring that as many genuine fans as possible get to see their heroes that this Bill is so important. The Bill looks to address the blatant exploitation of so-called ticket touts. These middlemen are living off our desire for live events and depriving athletes, artists and organisations of potential money that would ensure their lives and organisations are far better. In many cases this activity threatens the livelihood and advancement of those entertaining us at these events.

The need for this Bill comes back to the ordinary person that ticket touting directly affects. The current unregulated market curtails the common good. It is a drain on society and prevents many from enjoying their favourite artist, event or team. We are all aware of the pre-Internet days when a fan lucky enough to get a ticket would turn up at an event. The first person he would meet was the person buying or selling a ticket. Immediately the fan's thoughts turned to family and friends who, despite hours of trying, could not get tickets. The fan was left asking how that happens. On the other hand, if a genuine fan had a spare ticket, he would wait on the roadside of the venue seeking someone he knew or someone who looked like a genuine fan in order that he could pass on the ticket at face value. Often the reaction of the prospective buyer told its own story. The buyer would ask the fan why he was selling it for face value and whether the ticket was actually real. Such was the joy of the buyer actually getting a ticket but the experience of the touting system was that the buyer would be expected to pay well above the face value of the ticket for the event.

Now, we seem to have created a new online industry where a ticket for a live event is sold to the highest bidder. Sites have been created for such modern problems. At the same time these sites create problems for fans who continue to find themselves without a ticket and, most important, without the financial resources to afford the inflated prices these sites charge. This is why we welcome the Bill and its attempt to promote fair access to tickets to cultural, entertainment recreational and sporting events. As has been mentioned, exemptions would apply for charitable organisations and amateur sports clubs, which rely on these tickets for their resources.

The Bill will allow fans to plan for and afford the ticket prices that those behind the events originally costed the event for. Several Bills have been proposed. It is right - it has already been done in the House today - to thank all those who proposed them and who have contributed to getting us to this day.

We welcome this Bill. The pandemic has whetted our appetites to get back to live events. The Bill will, we hope, ensure fair access to tickets for events and ensure genuine fans will once again be able to roar on their teams or sing along to their favourite artists.

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