Cheap pints and an oasis from the rabble proved a draw at the Dáil bar last year, which recorded a 5% increase in profits in the year to December 2012.
The Dáil Bar enjoyed growth in revenue and profits last year, with accounts released by the Houses of the Oireachtas Service showing a profit increase of 5% from €138,600 to €145,623 in the 12 months to the end of December 2012. Revenues increased slightly, rising from €299,913 to €300,252. The bar and restaurant repaid €220,000 to the Department of Finance, leaving accumulated profits standing at €318,962.
Sales at the Dail restaurant stood at €919,353 last year, down slightly on the sales total of €928,243 recorded in 2011, according to annual accounts. The profit from the restaurant last year stood at €152,332, an increase on 2011's total of €122,669.
Pints at the Dáil bar are slightly cheaper than average capital prices, with pints of Guinness costing €4.30 and Heineken costing €4.70, compared to prices of €4.80 to €5.20 elsewhere.
The combined profit from the bar and restaurant totalled €297,946 in 2012, compared to €261,269 in 2011, an increase of 14%. The Dáil's restaurant cut back on sundry expenses in 2012, which included newspaper provision. However, the spend on flowers more than doubled from €1738 in 2011 to €4036 last year.
Noel Murphy, facilities manager at the Houses of Oireachtas service, commented that in an average year, visitor numbers to the restaurant, self-service restaurant, coffee dock and visitor's bar stand at some 100,000 people.
"This includes school visits, community groups, civil servants, incoming delegations from home and abroad and those attending committee meetings," he said.
