Fine Gael target ticket touting

Ticketmaster Ireland M.D. Eamon O’Connell has welcomed a Fine Gael initiative to stamp out ticket touting.

Under the terms of the proposed Prohibition of Ticket Touts Bill, it will be a criminal offence to sell tickets for major musical, sporting and theatrical events at above face value.

The Gardai would also have the authority to confiscate tickets from suspected touts under the legislation, which allows for the imposition of a €3,000 fine – up from €1,000 – and/or a term of imprisonment of up to six months.

“This is a genuine attempt to tackle the scourge of touts who rip-off music and sports fans,” says O’Connor, “and Ticketmaster, as the country’s leading ticket selling agency, fully supports it.”

As well as touts outside venues, Fine Gael are also targeting magazines and papers who “publish any advertisement for the sale of a ticket for a price in excess of the price officially designated on it.”