Fianna Fáil Senator Timmy Dooley has accused the band Oasis of "scalping" Irish fans through its ticket sale strategy for next year's Croke Park gigs, and has drafted legislation to ban dynamic pricing for cultural, sporting and entertainment events.
Speaking at Leinster House, he said the bill would extend existing legislation outlawing the resale of tickets above face value, so that it prohibits the sale of tickets for prices that have been adjusted by primary ticket sellers through the process of dynamic pricing.
Mr Dooley said: "This is a consumer issue. This is about protecting consumers from being ripped off by technological practices."
Meanwhile, the UK competition watchdog has launched an investigation into Ticketmaster over the ticket sales.
The Competition and Markets Authority will examine whether Ticketmaster breached consumer protection laws or engaged in unfair commercial practices, and will try to establish whether people were given clear and timely information to explain that the tickets could be subject to so-called "dynamic pricing".
The authority said it would engage with Ticketmaster and gather evidence from various other sources, which may include the band's management and event organisers.
Fianna Fáil TD Niamh Smyth said that the current practice is "not fair", and she predicted there will be "the same fiasco next time", unless dynamic pricing is outlawed
The Cavan/Monaghan TD said "people need to know" what price they are buying tickets at.
Ms Smyth said what happened was that Oasis fans thought they could buy standing tickets for €85 but ended up being told online that they were now 'in demand' and cost over €400.
Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil TD Jim O'Callaghan said he was surprised that dynamic ticket pricing "isn't already prohibited", adding the Government did not change law to get rid of ticket touts "...so that increased profit can be made primary seller."
He said it was neither fair nor transparent to "reel in" the public with low ticket prices, but then present them with inflated prices on a take-it or leave-it basis because of an algorithm.
Mr Dooley added that he was not talking about a cap on ticket prices but was demanding transparency in relation to what was being sold.
"If they wanted to sell tickets for €400 - they should just say it," he said.
He said the new legislation would not apply to flights or hotels because the purchasing public has alternatives - something which does not apply to concerts or events.
The senator added that he was not pointing the finger of blame at vendors - such as Ticketmaster - because the primary seller, in this case, was Oasis.
"The irony isn't lost on me how two working class lads have found a way to scalp the Irish people."
The Sale of Tickets (Cultural, Entertainment, Recreational and Sporting Events) Act came into effect in 2021 and banned the reselling of tickets above face value.
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