Report >> 5. Recommendations

The committee having examined the issues touching on the complaints received make the following observations and recommendations:

1. When selecting a site for concerts and events such as this, greater consideration should be given to access to a site that has only one access point. Particularly so when traffic supply is emanating from a nearby motorway with two other roads adding to that traffic flow.

2. Site selection and infrastructural requirements for outdoor concerts should include a better analysis of and preparedness for a weather scenario such as MCD had to contend with on this occasion.

3. The Garda Síochána Traffic Management Plan should be published in the media prior to the event.

4. Communication between key people was not as it should have been on that evening resulting in a lack of understanding of actual situations on the ground, particularly in relation to seating readiness. Priority was given to traffic and car parking issues. This, in our view was a systems failure.

5. From the start of the show radio communication between the key people should either be logged or recorded. In addition communication checks should be part of the overall monitoring strategy.

6. To ensure a more comprehensive overview of events consideration should have been given to the Event Controller having at all times line of sight view or CCTV overview of the arena and areas of access to and egress from the site as is the policy at other MCD large scale events.

7. As the promoters of the event MCD have to bear most of the responsibility for what happened on site on the night.

The committee recommends that, of the complaints received up to and including the 13th August 2007, MCD should deal with them in a professional and responsible manner. MCD did at the outset and immediately after the concert issue a statement accepting responsibility for what occurred. It went on to invite complaints, which is not normally done in similar situations, and it acknowledged in writing or by email all the complaints. From the outset MCD has interacted with the National Consumer Agency (NCA) and have kept them informed of the work of this committee.

The committee recommends that:

1. MCD make restitution to those complainants who had to stand or chose to stand and did not have seats. This should be in the form of a full refund.

2. The complainants who ended up in seats which were not their original seats and were in a price tier below the one they had tickets for, should be considered for compensation. These people will be compensated the price difference incurred; e.g. people with €551.75 seats who ended up in a €270.75 seat will receive a €281 refund and people with €270.75 seats who ended up in a €193.50 seat will receive a €77.25 refund etc.

3. For the other complainants who experienced difficulties on site e.g. car parking, disruption, people standing in front of them and similar experiences, MCD should consider some form of compensation in terms of vouchers for future shows. €100 Vouchers will be the maximum amount given and they will be non-transferrable. This should only apply where it is considered that MCD had some responsibility. To land all the responsibility on MCD for the weather and traffic issues would be unfair and in our view unsustainable.

In regard to the safety issues on site it is noted that the site was policed before and during the event by a Senior Safety Officer and Deputy Safety Officer and that in addition a Senior Fire Officer and other senior personnel from the Statutory Authorities (Gardaí, Health Service Executive & Kildare County Council) were on duty on site prior to and during the event. From the post event debrief meeting with the Statutory Authorities and the committees’ meeting with the Senior Safety Officer on duty, it is evident that no major safety issues arose at the event.

In conclusion we hope that this report will help in ensuring that situations like those which occurred at the Barbra Streisand Concert at Castletown House will not happen again. We hope we were fair to all concerned and that with the implementation of our recommendations the experiences of the night can be left in the past.

The committee especially wishes to thank those complainants who discussed, sometimes at inconvenient times over the phone, their experiences of the night and giving the committee a personal insight into what they encountered. It also wishes to thank sub contractors and key personnel who came before the committee and were open and forthcoming in the presentation and in answering questions.

ENDS


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