GUINNESS HAS BEEN king in the Dáil bar so far this year with more than 3,000 pints pulled in the first half of 2019. 

Twice as much was spent on drinks in the bar in February 2019 than the same month last year, according to figures released to TheJournal.ie under the Freedom of Information Act. 

The biggest amount was spent in June with €16,456.60 in sales at the bar, nearly twice as much as June 2018. 

Pints of Guinness have been the most popular drink in each month, followed by glasses of the own-brand Oireachtas wine. 

Both beverages sold well over €1,000 in drinks each month. The most popular month for Guinness was in February, with over €4,300 worth of pints pulled. 

The total amount spent on drinks between the beginning of January and the end of June 2018 was over €65,300. €78,870 was spent in the same period this year, a difference of over €13,500. 

Cork Dry Gin was the most purchased spirit each month, well exceeding sales of Gordon’s gin which is 10c more expensive. 

Smirnoff and Hennessy were other popular spirit choices and Heineken was the second most popular draught beer pulled each month. 

More money was spent on beer each month in the bar than any other beverage. 

In terms of minerals, coke was the most popular, followed by mineral water and 7 Up.

€18,106 was spent in February 2019, the second highest amount of any month on drinks. Almost the full amount spent on wine this month was on glasses of the Oireachtas own-brand wine – €2,364 out of over €2,900. 

A glass of this wine costs €6 and a pint of Guinness costs €4.80. Amounts spent in the bar each month varied from €8,864 to €16,457 up to June of this year.

Nearly €300 was spent on prosecco in March 2018, while over €100 was sold in March this year. Just €13 was spent on prosecco in January this year.

€2,000 more was spent in total on drinks for April 2019 than the same month last year. €3,000 less was spent in May this year compared to last year. 

Unpopular drink choices in the bar include Red Bull, Jack Daniels and glasses of beer. 

Although June was the highest month for spending, roughly the same amount was spent on Guinness as other months – €2,332.80.

There was a wider mix of drinks bought this month such as seven Sambucas, seven Malibus, one Jamaica Rum, two Camparis and five Peach Schnapps. 

In June 2018,  some rare choices were one Creme de menthe, one Sandeman port and one Southern Comfort. 

4,137 drinks were sold in February this year, more than any other month despite not having the highest total amount spent. 

By far, the most spent in a month in the bar since January 2018 was in December of last year when over €35,200 was spent on drinks. Over €900 was spent on prosecco alone that month. 

€6,676.80 was spent on pints of Guinness and over €2,000 spent on Cork Dry Gin. 

Last year, a new credit policy was announced for politicians with unpaid Dáil bar tabs to pay this debt from their salaries.  

It was reported in July that an average of 30 TDs and senators were so far paying their unpaid tabs from their salary each month.