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The prospect of ticket prices for concerts and sports events rising in line with demand in the same way as air fares has been raised in a Government report.
The move is one of a number of options laid out in a consultation document on tackling the problem of ticket touts.
It also outlines a number of options for dealing with so-called secondary ticket selling, which sees tickets sold on websites such as StubHub, but does not give a definitive view on what should be done.
The paper was published by Minister for Jobs Mary Mitchell O’Connor, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross, and Patrick O’Donovan, the Minister of State in Mr Ross’s department.
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Airline-style approach
One option outlined is an airline-style approach.
“This would entail a shift from the present fixed-price model for event tickets to one similar to that used for airline tickets where passengers on the same flight in the same type of seat may have paid widely varying amounts depending on demand at the time they booked their flight,” it says.
“Proponents of such a model claim that it could result in an increase of around 30 per cent in primary ticket revenues and would enable event organisers to recoup monies that currently go to secondary sellers and platforms.”
It adds, however, that “many fans would see it as a solution that would be no better than the problem it sought to address”.
Secondary sellers
The report raises the prospect of an outright ban on secondary ticket sellers, but says other countries have found legislation to deal with such sellers “is not warranted and/or that it is unlikely to be effective.
“The legislative options for tackling ticket resale range from the far-reaching, such as a ban on secondary ticketing, to the more modest, such as enhanced information requirements for secondary ticket transactions.”
Other areas examined in the report include measures to tackle so-called internet “bots” which block-book large numbers of tickets.
The publication of the report is to be followed by a consultation period when submissions can be made about the issues raised in it.
Fine Gael Dublin North West TD Noel Rock, who has consistently raised the issue of ticket touts, said there was no need for another report on the subject.
“The issues are the same from country to country, as this new report itself acknowledges. What we don’t need are more reports: we need action. Yet now the Ministers have decided to delay and frustrate any potential action on this.”