Dart forks out to promote restaurants

RECESSION-conscious commuters in Dublin will be fed for free on their way home tomorrow evening in city centre train stations as part of Iarnród Éireann’s dining-by-Dart promotion.

The promotion will see commuters sampling treats from 40 Dublin restaurants provided on the platforms at Connolly, Tara Street and Pearse stations.

From 4pm to 7pm tomorrow, some of the capital’s top restaurants will be serving finger food as part of celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the Dart service.

Commuters who present their Dart tickets at participating restaurants can avail of a value menu from tomorrow until August 26th. Dart diners will pay between €25 and €30 for a three-course meal after 7pm every evening.

Restaurants taking part in the promotion include Saba in Clarendon Street; One Pico in Molesworth Place; the Jaipur chain in Dalkey, Malahide and South Great George’s Street; and the Bloody Stream, a restaurant in the railway station at Howth.

A spokesman for Iarnród Éireann said that for 25 years the Dart had played an important role in the lives of Dubliners, including their social lives.

“Dining-by-Dart week will allow commuters to experience a range of top restaurants in our stations on their way home on Wednesday evening, and then give a great week’s value at a range of top restaurants from the Restaurants Association of Ireland for Dublin’s Dart customers,” he said.

The promotion should also be a welcome boost for restaurants feeling the effects of the downturn and has been welcomed by the Restaurant Association of Ireland.

According to Adrian Cummins, chief executive of the association, there has been a drop in footfall of up to 15 per cent in restaurants this year.

Customers are also spending up to 25 per cent less than they were last year. The increase in the income levy was felt by restaurants in June, he said, when people immediately decreased their spending.

A decrease in tourism has also had a knock-on effect on restaurants.

“We will probably see between 5 and 10 per cent of restaurants facing closure over the next six months,” he said.

“Ireland is the most expensive country in Europe to run a restaurant,” Mr Cummins said.

He also said a proposal in the McCarthy report, which recommended that spending on overseas promotion of Ireland should be reduced, should not be implemented.