Councillors call for measures to ensure festivals are safeguarded after collapse of tickets.ie

By Philip Rooney, The Sligo Champion

Local festivals must be protected and safeguards put in place to avoid a repeat of the situation that has left festivals such as the Rory Gallagher Festival in Ballyshannon and Cowboys and Heroes in Leitrim facing an uncertain future. a council meeting was told.

Cllr Thomas Walsh’s motion before the July meeting of Sligo County Council stated: “Given the shocking and questionable way Oshi Software Limited T/A Tickets.ie has ceased trading over the June Bank Holiday weekend and how it has left a number of events devastated by monies they owe that this Council seeks the Minister at the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment to urgently address what safeguards will be put in place in company law and legislatively to ensure this never happens again and that adequate safeguards are in place.

“Furthermore, that Sligo County Council writes to the Taoiseach, Tanaiste and Leader of the Independent Group, to ensure these events are supported by the state to ensure their continuation for 2027.”

Speaking to his motion, Cllr Walsh insisted, “What happened via tickets.ie is not acceptable.”

He continued, “It is really questionable where after the June Bank Holiday weekend when they had a lot of events on their books they decided to go into liquidation. It is really important it never happens again.”

He added, “It is really questionable what the company has done,” noting, “Ultimate ownership lies with a German company.”

Referring to the impact the liquidation of tickets.ie could have on local economies, Cllr Walsh stressed, “We can’t allow a company to come in and take that much money from the local economy. These companies should be held to account. The loophole should be closed asap.”

Cllr Donal Gilroy also gave his backing to the motion commenting, “This needs to be done by legislation. Nobody should be allowed to keep somebody else’s money. It is a good motion, these volunteers did hard work and their money has been taken from them by a company that has just folded.

Cllr Edel McSharry also spoke in favour of the motion noting, “We want to continue to ensure these events exist. The risks need to be minimised as much as possible.”

Article Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.