Central Bank staff charged only 90 cent for soup thanks to subsidised catering
Gordon Deegan
‘Soup of the day’ for 90 cent, Butterfly Basil Pesto Chicken for €3.90, and Pizza with mixed leafy salad and coleslaw for €4.20 resemble throwback prices that appeared on menus here in the 1990s.
However, these inflation-busting prices are ones that appear today for staff at the Central Bank to choose from at the Central Bank’s main Plaza restaurant at its North Wall Quay headquarters in Dublin.
Bosses at the Central Bank are able to insulate their staff - many of whom earn more than €100,000 per annum - from the impact of rising restaurant prices found elsewhere in Dublin city centre after recently agreeing a new €28.5 million (ex VAT) contract with the Irish arm of French catering giant Sodexo that provides for subsidised restaurant prices for staff.
Along with the cut-price soup, pesto chicken and pizzas, Central Bank staff can also opt for Roasted Topside of Beef made up of oven roasted beef served with mash potato, herb stuffing, roasted cauliflower & mixed greens with a beef gravy - for €4.85.
Staff members can also avail of The Best Mac & Cheese for €3.45 that comprises baked macaroni pasta in a rich creamy cheddar cheese sauce or 'Pho Bo Vietnamese Beef’ - Vietnamese style beef noodles with carrots, peppers, spring onion, bean sprouts & cabbage for €5.50
A spokeswoman for the Central Bank said today: “The Central Bank of Ireland provides subsidised catering for all staff as an important aspect of our overall workplace value offering. We aim to have a 50:50 cost-sharing approach.
She said that “the costs charged to staff are collected by the contractor and offset against the service cost”.
Chief executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, Adrian Cummins said today: “The staff in the Central Bank are so lucky to have such a subsidised canteen with prices for dishes which on the face of it are below cost.
He said: “There is no way individual restaurants could produce food at the prices quoted on the Central Bank menu."
Mr Cummins acknowledged that “there is a need for companies to provide low cost food for staff which is seen as a perk of the job”.
Mr Cummins remarked that he hopes that when Central Bank executives are writing up economic reports on the hospitality sector “the menu prices in the bank’s canteen doesn’t impair the ability for impartial viewpoints”.
Sodexo Ireland operated the previous contract to the end of January this year and faced opposition from just one other firm to secure the new five year long contract with the option to extend by a further two years.
Purchase Order records published by the Central Bank show that it last year paid Sodexo Ireland €8.68m for its catering services. That contract with Sodexo Ireland which expired at the end of January this year had a value of €24.7m.
The Central Bank’s most recent annual report for 2024 show that 729 of the 1,841 workforce earned over €100,000 that included 17 earning over €210,000.
The Central Bank spokeswoman said that the Sodexo Ireland contract comprises the Central Bank’s catering, hospitality and event services in its premises at its Dockland Campus and the Currency Centre, Sandyford.
The services provided include catering and hospitality services, contract management services, and provision of an app to support payments.
She said that the services provided, but not limited to the Restaurant and Cafés in the Dockland Campus; reception and meeting room services in the Dockland Campus; events and hospitality in the Dockland Campus and Currency Centre, Sandyford and tea station supplies.
She said that 49 staff are employed across the Dockland Campus and Currency Centre, Sandyford to provide the services as laid out in the contract with Sodexo Ireland.
