- Music
- 12 Jun 17
While Ireland and Austria locked horns last night, a battle of an altogether different kind was taking place outside the Aviva Stadium ... as Fine Gael's TD Noel Rock tackled the ticket touts.
Ticket touting has become an increasingly prevalent problem in Ireland, with the Competition and Consumer Protection Commissioner undertaking an investigation on the matter.
And Deputy Rock is now introducing a Private Member's Bill to the Dáil alongside Fianna Fáil's Stephen Donnelly to bring in legislation to once and for all stop ticket touting.
Speaking on the matter outside the Aviva Stadium, Deputy Rock told us: "The FAI, IRFU and GAA are all determined to put an end to ticket touting. My legislation supports them in this matter and, in the coming weeks, we hope to be able to get some positive news about the passage of this legislation".
Deputy Rock continued: "In the meantime, we need to keep up the pressure. It's quite clear that public support on this is emphatic - with more than 10,000 people signing a petition delivered to my office in February - and we need to work to bring about this important piece of consumer protection legislation".
Deputy Rock pointed out that "tickets for events like this are being sold on for what are sometimes incredibly inflated prices, often up to 10 times the original face value".
He concluded: "Technology is enabling people to snap up many tickets from the original source, skewing the playing field and making it harder for regular fans to get access to tickets.
"We have guaranteed that we will have legislation in place in advance of Euro 2020 and also as part of our Rugby World Cup 2023 bid. I intend to ensure we keep this promise."