Dáil bar pulls profits up 5% to over €145k

Cheap pints and tales of political intrigue proved to be the recipe for success at the Dáil bar last year as revenues and profits increased.

According to annual accounts for the bar released by the Houses of the Oireachtas Service, profits increased by 5%, from €138,600 to €145,623, in the 12 months to the end of December last.

This follows revenues increasing marginally from €299,913 to €300,252.

However, the healthy profits of recent years X may be put at risk if the electorate decides to axe a sizeable portion of the bar’s customer base — the 60 senators currently in the Seanad.

The Dáil bar beats local competition on price for its alcohol — customers to one of the most celebrated bars in the country can avail of cut-price beer, with a pint of Guinness costing €4.30 and a pint of Heineken costing €4.70. This compares to €4.80 for a pint of Guinness and €5.20 for a pint of Heineken in pubs across Dublin city centre.

The bar increased its profits in spite of sales of Guinness and Heineken dropping last year.

Figures previously released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request showed that the number of Guinness kegs sold dropped from 120 to 98, while the number of Heineken kegs sold dropped from 55 to 44.

The annual accounts show that the Dáil restaurant is a far busier operation, with sales of €919,353 recorded last year — down slightly on sales of €928,243 recorded in 2011.

The restaurant’s profit last year totalled €152,332 compared to €122,669 in 2011.

The bar, however, is a more profitable enterprise, enjoying a gross profit margin of 56% compared to 39% at the restaurant.

The combined profit from the bar and restaurant totalled €297,946, compared to €261,269 in 2011 — an increase of 14%.

The restaurant operation last year cut back on its sundry expenses, including a cut in spending on its newspapers, down from €5,017 to €4,635.

However, the spend on flowers more than doubled, from €1,738 in 2011 to €4,036 last year.

The bar and restaurant repaid €220,000 to the Department of Finance, leaving accumulated profits standing at €318,962.

Facilities manager at the Houses of the Oireachtas Service, Noel Murphy, pointed out that the bar and restaurant provided a service to the members, member’s staff, and staff of the House of the Oireachtas Service, which amounts to about 1,200 people.

“The restaurant, self-service restaurant, coffee dock, and visitor’s bar would also be accessible to a large number of visitors to Leinster House, which in any given year amounts to approximately 100,000 people,” said Mr Murphy.

“This includes school visits, community groups, civil servants, incoming delegations from home and abroad, and those attending committee meetings, etc.”