Former GAA President Sean Kelly has claimed that a potential scenario where dynamic pricing affects the All-Ireland football and hurling finals cannot be allowed to happen.
Last month, British group Oasis announced concert dates across the UK and Ireland. However, many fans were left frustrated as prices surged well past the initial price quoted on Ticketmaster.
There have been widespread discussions about dynamic pricing of events since the Oasis debacle, and some fear that fans of other high-profile events will suffer the same fate in the future.
Kelly, the leader of the Fine Gael delegation in the European Parliament, admitted that he was shocked by the Oasis ticket issue and claimed that the same scenario in the GAA would not be tolerated by eager fans of teams.
"Like most people, I was shocked and appalled when I saw how tickets for next year's Oasis concert soared from €100 to €400 in a matter of hours," said Kelly via The Mirror.
“If this happened with All-Ireland final tickets, there would be absolute uproar. Could you imagine charging €100 for a ticket and then seeing it jump to €200, €300, or even €400 just because of high demand? It wouldn’t be tolerated.
"These concerts take place in GAA grounds, and I firmly believe that the same principles that apply to our matches should apply to concerts. There should be no ticket gouging."
🎟️ The ticketing website has faced a flurry of criticism for its use of “dynamic pricing”, a practice where customers are charged higher prices as the level of demand increases#Oasis25 pic.twitter.com/3GeGzbTPZ3
— Oasis Mania (@OasisMania) September 1, 2024
Kelly also claimed that he has written to Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission’s competition chief, to enquire if there has been malpractice when it comes to Ticketmaster's inflated prices.
"Ticketmaster has a virtual monopoly in Ireland,” he added. “I have written to the European Commission to investigate whether they are exploiting their dominant position.
"I have called for Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission’s competition chief, to investigate whether they are inflating prices unfairly. It’s time to ensure that ticket gouging is stopped in Ireland."
Kelly went on to say that ticket prices should remain the same for everyone across the board, and doing the opposite would incur massive damage to Ireland's reputation.
"Everyone should pay the same price for a ticket, regardless of whether they purchase it at 1 pm or 4 pm. Fair play for everyone – that’s what this should be about,"he said.
"This issue is damaging not only to concert-goers but to Ireland's reputation. We can’t go back to the days of ‘Rip-Off Ireland.’
"I believe the GAA must step up and ensure that the same level of fairness applies to all events in their venues. This is about protecting consumers and ensuring that everyone can enjoy live events without being priced out."
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