Taoiseach Simon Harris has said there should be “probing” into pricing in the ticketing industry after the price of tickets for Oasis’s reunion gigs surged.
Hundreds of thousands of fans who waited in online queues for tickets to the band’s two gigs at Dublin’s Croke Park were left shocked when they found that prices for standing tickets had rocketed by the time they finally got the opportunity to make a purchase.
Some were quoted at €415.50 each due to dynamic pricing.
A spokesperson for the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) said it believes there are “legitimate concerns around the consumer experiences of buying concert tickets this weekend”.
“We are actively reviewing the situation and we will consider all options to ensure consumer protection law is followed.”
The Taoiseach said the Government had taken a lot of action in recent years to tackle ticket touting.
“The monopoly held by one company is something that I think does deserve probing and also the issue around surcharges and the like,” he said
“I do think this needs to be reviewed and look, if there’s actions government needs to take in terms of the future, let’s look at that, let’s take action in relation that.
“But I think there’s a bad taste in the mouths of people here in relation to pricing, surcharge, and we do have to be conscious we are dealing with a monopoly situation here as well.
“So I would very much welcome a probe in relation to this, a full report being able to be provided, and of course, it’s deferred to my colleague the Minister for Enterprise in terms of how best that takes place.”
He said that the Minister for Enterprise is contacting the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald said working class Oasis fans “who got them where they are” are being “thrown under the bus” over a “crazy” pricing system.
She added: “I saw somebody put it directly to Oasis that they’re a working class group, the working class got them where they are and they’re throwing them under the bus.
“The dynamic pricing … to me it’s crazy that permission would be given for concerts, without any notification as to the cost of tickets.
“I think it just needs to stop.
“We’ve raised this time and again.
“Louise O’Reilly has been very active on this question with government.
“This has happened with Oasis, but it’s happened with other concerts and other acts as well.
“It’s completely unfair.
“You enter into a lottery, really, in terms of getting your tickets, rather than a straight transaction.
“Whether it’s Oasis or Taylor Swift, or the Wolfe Tones, or the man on the moon who’s performing, the consumer should know what the price ranges are, that they’re fixed prices, and then everybody tries to get in first and get the tickets that they want.
“But this dynamic pricing has to end. It needs to be dealt with.
“We’ve called for it before, and I’m very glad now, maybe they’re all Oasis fans, that they’ve actually find any woken up to the fact that this is happening.
“About 500 quid nearly for a ticket. Come on.”
The Ticketmaster website said the prices of platinum and in-demand tickets were set according to their market value and were subject to change.
When asked about this issue by the PA news agency, Ticketmaster made clear it does not set the prices.
It is understood that the prices are set by the promoters, not the artists.
While thousands got the chance to buy prized tickets to the Croke Park concerts, many thousands more never made it that far and missed out completely.
The sales window opened at 8am on Saturday, an hour earlier than for the UK gigs, and within minutes the online queue for both nights was in excess of 500,000 people.
Speaking in Dublin on Monday, Mr Harris also asked Oasis to announce extra Dublin gigs as part of their highly anticipated reunion tour.
Many Irish fans were left disappointed that they did not get one of 160,000 tickets on sale over two dates in August in Dublin’s Croke Park stadium.
“I think with the level of interest in attending Oasis gigs in this country, one would hope that they might find it within themselves to put on a few more,” Mr Harris said.
“I certainly know of many people across the country who would be heartened were that to be the reality and with their strong Irish links, and now that they’re back together, I know they would be warmly welcomed here for an extended period of time.
“I think their Dublin gigs are at the end of their UK-Ireland tour so if they have time to fit us in for a few more I’m certainly aware of many people who missed out on tickets who’d only be too delighted to go to a further gig.”
