Thirsty TDs clocked up €7,461 Dáil bar bill after water levy debate

Some TDs were driven to drink after debating the water services’ bill for 40 hours, making it the busiest night of the year in the Dail bar last month.

The keg taps at Leinster House were flowing on December 17 after the legislation was voted through. The debate had continued over several days.

Figures released by the House of the Oireachtas Commission in response to a Freedom of Information request showed the bars clocked up €7,461 in sales.

It was €563 more than the €6,898 taken during the busiest night of 2013, which had coincided with the all-night sitting for the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill.

The July 2013 debate continued until 5am.

While water may have been on the minds of TDs for most of 2014, they were focused on pints of Guinness and lager on the mid-December night.

Dáil bars sold 301 pints of Guinness and 139 pints of Heineken, Budweiser and Carlsberg.

The following night, the recess signalling the Christmas break, was the second busiest night of the year, when €7,055 was expended.

Oireachtas members can avail of cut price drink at the bar and figures show the Oireachtas bars generated €285,564 in revenues in 2013, recording a profit of €104,129. The profit and revenue figure for 2014 is not yet available.

However, the number of Guinness and Heineken kegs sold last year continued to slide.

The contents of 73 Guinness kegs were sold last year compared to 90 kegs sold in 2013, and 98 kegs sold in 2012.

There was also a drop in Heineken sales with 35 kegs sold in 2014, compared to 41 kegs in 2013, and 44 in 2012.

There are around 90 pints in a keg confirming the sale of around 6,570 pints of Guinness in 2014 with around 3,150 pints of Heineken sold.