Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 September 2015
444. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the position the regarding the disproportionately high booking fees that are charged for booking concert tickets, airline tickets and so on by credit card; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30584/15]
View answerIt is not clear from the Deputy’s question whether her concern is with ticket booking fees generally or only with the fees that apply to bookings made with a credit card. While the information that traders must provide about booking fees is subject to consumer protection legislation, the fees themselves are not regulated. Though I am aware of consumer dissatisfaction with these fees, the limited information available about booking fees for concerts and other events would suggest that the fees charged in Ireland are not out of line with those in other countries. While booking fees are not regulated, the same is not true of payment fees. The European Union (Consumer Information, Cancellation and Other Rights) Regulations 2013, which give effect to Directive 2011/83/EU on Consumer Rights, provide that the fees charged to consumers for the use of a given means of payment, such as a credit card, must not exceed the cost of that means of payment to the trader. A trader who contravenes this provision of the Regulations commits an offence. Enforcement of the Regulations is the responsibility of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and, for electronic communications and premium rate services, the Commission for Communications Regulation.
Directive 2007/64/EC on Payment Services in the Internal Market gives Member States discretion to forbid or limit payment charges taking into account the need to encourage competition and the use of efficient payment instruments. Ireland, in common with 12 other Member States including Germany and the United Kingdom, did not implement this option. The proposal for a revised Directive published by the European Commission in 2013 provides for a ban on surcharges for payments made under the main consumer credit and debit card schemes. Questions about this proposal and the related, recently adopted Regulation (EU) 2015/751 on Interchange Fees for Card-Based Payment Transactions are a matter for the Minister for Finance.
