Dublin pub warned it must sell food after €9 charity donation loophole

Gardaí have advised owners at one Dublin pub that drinks must be accompanied by a €9 substantial meal if they are to stay open. Horrified by the amount of food waste generated by the current €9 substantial meal rule, Oscar's pub in Smithfield informed customers that they'd be offering the facility to purchase a meal that would effectively be suspended. Revealing that they would use the money to donate the cost of production to local homeless charities, owners felt the plan was a "common-sense approach" to the problem and still within the guidelines. Unfortunately, gardaí were not of the same opinion and Oscar's has since updated customers that they will no longer be offering the suspended meal service. A message shared on the Oscar's Facebook page last night reads: "Regrettably we wish to advise that under the advice of An Garda Siochana we will no longer be offering the facility of our Suspended Meal for the Homeless and will require a substantial meal to be consumed (or not consumed as the case may be) with the purchase of an alcoholic drink. "We have nothing but the utmost respect for the Gardai who are just enforcing the current legislation. It was never our intention to circumvent the law. It was done with the best of intentions with what we thought was a common-sense approach to dealing with unnecessary food waste. "Any money raised to date will be passed onto Brother Kevin's Capuchin Centre along with a €1000 contribution from Oscars.

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