'Dynamic pricing is scourge on music': TD calls for end to ticket price gouging
Music lovers were left stunned after being forced to shell out around €400 for a ticket the band's Dublin concerts after tickets went on sale last year, despite standing tickets initially being advertised at €86.50 plus booking fees.
Speaking ahead of the two sold-out Oasis shows, Labour Party spokesperson on Culture, Robert O'Donoghue, recalled the outrageous price gouging allowed by Ticketmaster this time last year.
'Dynamic pricing is a scourge on modern music, sport and cultural ticket purchases,' Deputy O'Donoghue said.
'Since Ticketmaster introduced the practice in 2022, fans and spectators have seen sudden price increases, sometimes of up to 500 per cent, of already expensive ticket prices.
"While there are excuses made that this practice falls to event organisers, when Ticketmaster has a near monopoly on ticket selling, they are ultimately the ones in charge of allowing such price hikes to happen.
'This is leading us down a path where only the very well-off can afford to go to a gig without putting themselves under severe financial strain.
"Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke has stated to me in a parliamentary question that he is awaiting the results of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC)'s investigation on the matter of dynamic pricing, but the evidence is already clear in the bank balance of anyone who bought an Oasis ticket.
"Last year, Government introduced the Sale of Tickets (Cultural, Entertainment, Recreational and Sporting Events) (Amendment) Bill 2024 to ensure these rip-off ticket prices do not happen again, but we haven't seen anything of it since.
"I am calling on Government to progress this legislation to tackle rip-off ticket prices. The time for action is now."
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