Oireachtas members faced with a different kind of Dail bill!

It’s not the sort of bill you usually introduce into the Oireachtas - but Galway East TD and Junior Minister Ciaran Cannon was among a number of TDs and Senators revealed as collectively owing over €8,000 to the Dail bar and restaurant.

“I have a bar bill of about €110 at the moment. I’ll obviously be paying that when I’m up there tomorrow morning. The reason the bill is there is that my wallet was two floors up in my office. I signed for the bill at the time and it then is forwarded to my office a few days later. That is how the facility arises,” he said.

But referring to the overall issue of Oireachtas members enjoying limitless credit on food and drink at Leinster House with no time restrictions on repayment, the Minister agreed a new system should be put in place whereby there’s a monthly or quarterly requirement for settling outstanding bills.

And he suggested there should be some sanction for those members who run up large bills. “But the vast majority of TDs incur bills in the order of a couple of hundred Euro which can be paid off at the end of the month or quarter. The facility is there and I don’t think there should be any issue with that,” he said.

Other Galway politicians contacted who confirmed they are not on the list of members with outstanding Leinster House catering and bar payments included Michael Kitt, Paul Connaughton, Brian Walsh, Colm Keaveney, Derek Nolan and Éamon Ó Cuiv.

“It’s like any bill a person would get, you should pay your way. There should be penalties involved - there is no reason why those bills should not be paid on time,” explains Galway East TD Michael Kitt.

See full story in this week's Connacht Tribune.