Hopes soared this evening that a solution might finally be on the cards, in relation to the Garth Brooks concert series in Dublin.

Over the past 48 hours, work has been going on, around the clock, to see if a way might be found to allow all five gigs to go ahead. The new Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly – who is also the new deputy leader of the Labour Party – told media that he was working to try to find a mechanism that would allow Dublin City Council the opportunity to review its decision to license three rather than five gigs. The new leader of the Labour Party, Joan Burton, also expressed her wish to see the concerts go ahead.

Efforts to enable Dublin City Council to review the decision have centered on the bizarre facts that have emerged in relation to the objections that were lodged against the holding of the concerts. Hot Press understands that in excess of 40% of the objections checked to date have been identified by Gardai and bogus.

"That in itself is enough to taint the entire decision making progress," one planning expert told Hot Press. "The decision no longer has any credibility, as it was clearly based on distorted or untrue information. The fact that there was apparently a fraudulent aspect to this only adds to the seriousness of the current situation. Because if the gigs were not to go ahead, then that could make any individual guilty of putting objections in under someone else's name, or identity, responsible for any losses accruing from the refusal to allow the gigs to go ahead."

The high incidence of fraudulent objections may result in a criminal investigation by Gardaí. One of the more sickening aspects of the anti-Garth campaign is that the names of people with intellectual disabilities were apparently used to register false objections.

On top of this, many of the high profile objectors have begun to run for cover, withdrawing their objections and making noises which would surely encourage the authorities to go ahead with licensing all five shows. In particular, one objector, Brian Duff, has claimed that he was paid €15,000 to object. In addition, according to the man – who has now dropped a court case he had initiated – he was also bought a suit to wear when he appeared in court.

It was against that backdrop that Ticketmaster issued a statement tonight, delaying the beginning of the refunding process to ticket-holders.

"Ticketmaster understands that negotiations to try and find a resolution to the Garth Brooks concerts situation are still ongoing," the company's short statement began. "As a result, Ticketmaster will be delaying commencement of the refunds process until Thursday, July 17th. We would ask fans to continue to be patient and to hold onto their tickets for now."

It is the firmest indication yet that a solution may be in the offing. Watch this space...