The beginning of 2015 has witnessed a number of pubs around the country being criticised for insensitive/irresponsible drinks promotions. January is regarded among pub owners as a quiet time of the year due to many customers’ wallets recovering from the ‘spend-ageddon’ that comes hand-in-hand with the Christmas period.
The elected officials who represent our interests in the country’s national parliament are not immune to this period of financial depression. Many ministers and TDs often say that the post-holiday break is when morale is at its lowest and they welcome any form of light entertainment which may help alleviate the struggle of the darkest month of the winter.
Next Monday, the official pub inside the government buildings plan to offer TDs an assortment of drink deals, in an effort to drown those January blues. The owner of the bar is planning a 9-5 “piss up” in an effort to give the pub’s revenue a jump-start for the New Year. As part of the promotion, TDs will see the price of a pint be reduced by 50 cent for every hour they stay in the bar drinking. However, in order for this to be achieved, it will require TDs to miss out on scheduled debates in the Dáil for the day.
When promotion was announced, Tánaiste Joan Burton told Oxygen.ie that, “I think it’s a great idea. It gives us a chance to socialise. Being a TD can be very isolating due to the hatred we receive from the public and members of our immediate family. This gives us a chance to socialise with people in the same situation as us, who otherwise would be sitting at home and not contributing to society.”
The Tánaiste went on further to say, “Sure, it’s not like we would get anything done in the Dáil if everyone was there. That shite Mary Lou would probably kick off again and we would be sitting around for the afternoon with our arms crossed trying to stay awake.”
Despite the controversy, the Dáil bar will still proceed with the promotions as originally planned