DÁIL AND Seanad members owe €68,000 in Leinster House restaurant and bar bills, but the outstanding money will be paid, an Oireachtas spokesman said yesterday.
He said the Houses of the Oireachtas rigorously followed up any current or former Oireachtas members with outstanding bills. “It is not the practice for remaining amounts to be written off or paid for by the taxpayer,” he said. “The only incidence where an outstanding bill might not be pursued is in the case of the death of a member or former members.”
This followed the revelation yesterday some TDs, elected in February, and some Senators, elected in April, have run up restaurant and bar bills of €60,000 while former Oireachtas members owe €8,000.
Their names were not released by the Oireachtas.
One former member owes restaurant bills of €1,654 while another former member owes €23. A former member has a bar bill of €105 and another owes €9.
A current member has restaurant bills of €3,716, while others owe €2,767, €2,759 and €3.70. Bar bills owed by current members vary from €694 to €3.70.
The Oireachtas spokesman said that, from time to time, a credit facility for the bar and restaurant was offered to members for reasons of convenience.
“In particular, this may occur when a member is hosting groups from their constituency, such as community organisations, school tours and other delegations in order to allow them purchase soft drinks and other refreshments,” he added.
“There are approximately 100,000 visitors to Leinster House each year and the majority of these visits are arranged and hosted by TDs and Senators.”
The spokesman said the Oireachtas wrote to relevant members to request payment of any bills on a monthly basis and there was a follow-up if bills remained unpaid.
“The majority of outstanding bills are settled in full at the end of each calendar month,” he added.
