The government is planning to fast-track new legislation which many enable a second U2 concert to take place at Slane in August. The law, which was due to be introduced later in the year, would remove the need for organisers to apply for planning permission. The Taoiseach has asked the Minister for the Environment to enact the relevant piece of legislation.
The new regulations will be presented to the Dail and Seanad in the next fortnight and could be law by the end of the month. This would allow the promoters of U2's Slane concert the time to apply for a license under the new system if they wanted to stage a second show.
There were angry scenes at ticket outlets last Saturday when queuing fans were turned away after the 80,000 tickets for the August 25th concert sold out in 45 minutes. MCD, the promoters of the U2 concert, said that it was the fastest selling show ever in Ireland.
This evening MCD said they welcomed the Taoiseach's intervention. A spokesman said they were waiting to see what would emerge and indicated that any chances of a second concert would depend on the goodwill of the people in Slane.
