Written answers

Tuesday, 29 November 2011

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation

Proposed Legislation

9:00 pm

Photo of Tommy BroughanTommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 220: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he is considering legislation to stop the practice of the reselling of tickets for music, sport and other recreational events at exorbitant prices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37287/11]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The primary responsibility for preventing the sale of event tickets at prices above their face value rests with the ticket agents and promoters. The terms and conditions governing the sale of such tickets commonly provide that, if the ticket is resold for profit, it is voidable and the holder may be refused entry to the venue. Ticket agents also typically reserve the right to cancel tickets advertised or published in a manner consistent with the intent to resell them for profit. Effective enforcement of these terms and conditions would go a long way towards stopping the resale of event tickets at the exorbitant prices referred to by the Deputy.

Though legislative intervention should not be entirely ruled out if other approaches prove ineffective, such legislation would give rise to a number of issues. A significant proportion of ticket resales appear to be undertaken by private sellers through online auction platforms. It is open to question if criminalising the activities of such individuals would represent an appropriate or proportionate policy response, or would constitute an effective use of the limited resources available for the enforcement of consumer protection provisions. Though this consideration does not apply to the activities of businesses engaged in secondary ticket resale, the online nature of these activities means that a legislative prohibition in one jurisdiction may simply lead such businesses to relocate elsewhere.

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