Ireland’s event organisers have a statutory tool that can help prevent tickets for high-demand events being resold above their original price, and many may not realise they can actively apply to use it. On 27 August 2026, the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment republished its Register for Designation of Venues and Events, offering a timely reminder of an important part of Ireland’s ticketing legislation. Under the Sale of Tickets (Cultural, Entertainment, Recreational and Sporting Events) Act 2021, certain venues and individual events can be formally designated. Once designated, secondary ticket sellers are prohibited from selling, or advertising for sale, tickets or ticket packages for more than their original sale price, including any fees or charges forming part of the original purchase price. Breaching this prohibition is an offence. Crucially, designation is not applied automatically. It is a regulatory mechanism that event organisers and venue operators can actively apply to use.

What designation does and does not do

Designation specifically targets above-price secondary selling. It does not create a general prohibition on ticket resale. Separately, the Act protects legitimate ticket transfer. In general, contractual terms cannot prevent a ticket being given to another person for no payment or resold for no more than its original sale price, subject to limited exceptions relating to safety, public health or public order. The legislation also provides a specific exemption from the above-price prohibition for approved fundraising by registered charities and qualifying amateur sports clubs. The mechanism is therefore targeted. It is intended to prevent profiteering from secondary ticket sales where demand creates a realistic risk of inflated resale. For organisers, designation can form part of a wider approach to protecting the intended pricing and accessibility of an event.

Two routes to designation

The legislation provides two distinct routes: designation of a venue and designation of an individual event.

1. Designating a venue

A venue operator may apply to designate a venue where it has capacity for 1,000 people or more and the operator reasonably believes it will host events likely to give rise to above-price secondary selling. Once a venue is designated, events taking place there fall within the designation system. For venues regularly hosting high-demand concerts, sporting fixtures, cultural events or other ticketed programmes, venue designation can provide a broader and more strategic approach than applying separately for individual events.

2. Designating an individual event

An event organiser or venue operator may also apply to designate an individual event where they reasonably believe that, having regard to the nature of the event, it may give rise to above-price resale. Unlike venue designation, there is no minimum capacity threshold for an individual event application. This makes the mechanism relevant beyond the country’s largest venues. The Act also allows applications for events held on an annual or other periodic basis in the same venue, making designation potentially useful for recurring festivals, annual cultural programmes, established sporting fixtures and other ticketed events where demand is expected to exceed supply.

What an organiser must demonstrate

The prescribed application process requires applicants to provide details of the event, venue and dates, confirmation that the organiser or venue operator reasonably believes above-price resale may occur, and the basis for that opinion. The legislation does not impose a single test, so organisers should be prepared to explain why inflated secondary-market activity is reasonably anticipated. Depending on the event, relevant factors might include exceptionally high or historically strong demand, previous secondary-market activity, the profile of the artist, team, performer or event, limited ticket availability, scarcity of comparable performances or fixtures, previous sales patterns, anticipated demand significantly exceeding venue capacity, or other relevant indicators suggesting tickets may attract above-face-value resale. Designation is not automatic. The Minister must be satisfied that the statutory conditions have been met and may seek additional information before determining an application.

The Minister can also designate without an application

The legislation also gives the Minister powers to designate certain venues or events even where no application has been made. This can occur following consultation with the relevant venue operator or organiser and where the statutory conditions and public-interest requirements are satisfied. For venues, this reserve power can extend to venues with a capacity of fewer than 1,000 people. This means the designation system is not entirely dependent on an organiser or venue operator initiating the process. However, the more practical point for industry is that organisers do not need to wait for Government intervention, because an application route already exists.

Designation also has implications for primary ticket sales

Designation is not only relevant once tickets appear on the secondary market. It also creates obligations at the primary ticketing stage. For tickets relating to designated events or events taking place at designated venues, primary ticket sellers must inform purchasers that the event is designated and that resale above the original sale price is prohibited, subject to statutory exemptions. Organisers considering designation should therefore incorporate it into their wider ticketing arrangements, including ensuring ticketing providers understand the designation and can meet the information requirements. Designation should ideally be considered as part of the overall ticketing strategy rather than as a response after problematic secondary selling has already begun.

How to apply

The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment provides separate prescribed application forms for Designation of a Venue and Designation of an Event. Applications may be submitted electronically to the Department’s Competition and Consumer Policy Section, and the Department also publishes guidance explaining the designation process. Organisers and venue operators can consult the Department’s published. Register for Designation of Venues and Events to establish whether a venue or event is already covered.

• Register for Designation of Venues and Events
• Sale of Tickets Act 2021, guidance and designation applications

A strategic consideration before tickets go on sale

Ticket touting and secondary-market pricing are often discussed primarily as consumer-protection issues, but Ireland’s designation system also provides organisers and venue operators with a practical mechanism to help protect the intended pricing, accessibility and reputation of an event. For events expected to generate particularly strong demand, designation is therefore worth considering before tickets go on sale, alongside measures such as ticket purchase limits, authorised resale arrangements, clearly defined ticketing terms, anti-fraud controls, customer communications and measures designed to reduce speculative purchasing. No single measure will eliminate all secondary-market issues, but organisers should be aware of the regulatory tools that already exist. The Department’s republished Register is therefore more than a reference list. It is a reminder that designation is a mechanism organisers themselves can apply to use before above-face-value resale becomes a problem.

This article is intended as general industry information and does not constitute legal advice.