DUBLIN, Ireland: Despite the introduction of laws banning "ticket touting", a Fine Gael TD has expressed serious concerns that the practice continues unabated.

Ticket touting is the practice of reselling tickets for popular sporting and cultural events on the black market at prices way above the legal price.

Offaly TD John Clendennen said that tickets for the important Six Nations Championship match between the Ireland national rugby union team and the Scotland national rugby union team, held this weekend at Aviva Stadium, were sold online for extremely high prices.

The Sale of Tickets (Cultural, Entertainment, Recreational and Sporting Events) Act 2021 was introduced to protect consumers and ensure fair access to popular events. The law limits the resale of tickets at prices higher than their original value.

However, tickets for many popular concerts, sports matches, and cultural events are still widely available on resale websites at much higher prices.

Clendennen said tickets for the international rugby match between Ireland and Scotland on March 14 were sold online for prices ranging from about 217 euros to as much as 3,072 euros. He pointed out that the tickets were originally sold for as little as 60 euros, while premium seats started at 185 euros.

He said this situation showed clear price gouging and raised serious concerns about how effective the law is and whether it is being properly enforced.

Clendennen said tickets for major sporting and cultural events should be available to ordinary fans and families instead of being quickly bought and resold at extremely high prices by ticket touts trying to make a profit.

He added that the goal of the 2021 law was to create fairness and transparency in the ticket market and to protect customers from exploitation.

Clendennen said the law already provides a framework for addressing ticket touting, but its success depends on strong enforcement.

He suggested that more resources might be needed for the Garda Síochána or the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission if authorities believe extra support is necessary.

He also said event organisers, in this case the Irish Rugby Football Union, must also take action to stop ticket price gouging.

Clendennen said fans should be able to attend the events they enjoy without being forced out by inflated resale prices. He added that authorities must ensure the law is properly enforced and that existing legislation is doing its job.