Dáil bar doesn’t need a licence to sell liquor

The Dáil bar does not need a licence — despite selling booze until all hours, Oireachtas officials have insisted.

They say the drinking establishment, which can stay open for up to an hour after the Dáil has finished proceedings, made notorious in the wake of last July’s “Lapgate” incident, operates under “parliamentary privilege”.

The revelation came in a response from the Oireachtas joint sub-committee on administration to inquiries first raised by Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams in the summer.