SINN FÉIN PRESIDENT Gerry Adams has said a proposal by some Oireachtas members to launch a Houses of the Oireachtas wine brand shows how out of touch some people are in Leinster House.

The Irish Mail on Sunday reported today that the idea for the Houses of the Oireachtas to have its own brand of wine was meant to be discussed at an Oireachtas committee meeting last week but was postponed.

Own wine label

It is proposed that the House of the Oireachtas develop its own house wine with its own wine label and that they could be used for personal use and for gifts.

In a statement Adams said:

The Oireachtas own brand wine proposal is bizarre and shows how out of touch some members of the Oireachtas really are. It is completely inappropriate that elected members of the Oireachtas would be wasting time discussing Oireachtas own brand wine while so many ordinary citizens, those who put them in Leinster House, are struggling to pay bills and put food on the table.

He said “the fact that this proposal was set for discussion before the pressing issues I have raised about politicians drinking while discussing important legislation shows that some members have their priorities all wrong”.

Drinking in the Dáil

Adams said he has sent a letter to the Ceann Comhairle about the late night opening hours of the Dáil bar and said the fact that the Oireachtas wine proposal was scheduled for discussion before the pressing issue of politicians drinking while discussing important legislation, the unregulated nature of the Dáil bar and the unfair terms and conditions for Oireachtas staff “shows how some members have their priorities all wrong”.