Dublin City Council said the decision to reduce the number of Garth Brooks concerts “cannot be amended or appealed”. In a statement last night, the council said it had been consistent in informing the promoter that its main concern was the impact that five consecutive concerts would have on the local area.
Meanwhile Minister for Tourism Leo Varadkar said yesterday he saw no reason why the remaining three Garth Brooks concerts scheduled for Croke Park later this month should not go ahead.
The council said the outdoor event licensing procedure was not the same as that which applied to a planning application.
In late January-early February tickets went on sale for five proposed Garth Brooks concerts at Croke Park. “It should be noted that the promoter could have lodged the licence application at any stage, including before the tickets went on sale last February. Dublin City Council were not formally consulted by the promoter prior to the tickets going on sale. It should be noted that there is no requirement for such consultation.”
There was no formal consultation with Dublin City Council and the promoter before the lodgement of the event licence applications, although there were a number of informal discussions with the promoter’s agents prior to its lodgment, the statement said.
The council said the application for the outdoor event licence was not received until April 17th. “The application was accompanied by a draft event management plan which included associated drawings. The application was circulated to the relevant statutory agencies for their information and consideration.
“There is a five-week public consultation period associated with such applications where any person can make a submission/observation on the application within that period. The closing date for submissions in this case was the 21st of May and in excess of 370 were received within that timeframe,” the statement added.
A meeting was held at Dublin City Council’s request on June 3rd with the promoter and venue management relating to the production/build/decommissioning of structures schedule that was received with the application. Another meeting was held on June 11th to discuss traffic management and transportation.
“Dublin City Council planning department made it clear at these meetings no decision had been made on the application at that time. Dublin City Council stated at both meetings that its most serious concern was the number of shows proposed and the impact on people living in the area,” the statement added.
The decision to grant or refuse an event licence is made by senior management in Dublin City Council’s planning department.