asked the Minister for the Public Service the number of persons employed in the Civil Service and other Public Service and semi-State bodies who have the free use of a car (a) with a chauffeur and (b) without a chauffeur; the areas in the Public Service, Civil Service or semi-State bodies in which such individuals are employed; the rank of such persons; and the cost to the State or semi-State body over the last five years of the provision of such a facility.
Ceisteanna: Questions. Oral Answers. - Use of Cars by Public Servants.
3.
Civil servants are not provided with the free use of a car. I am not directly responsible for the other bodies referred to in the question, with the exception of the Institute of Public Administration. No employee of that body has free use of a car.
Is the Minister in a position to indicate the numbers and the cost of such cars used by semi-State bodies?
The information I have is necessarily very limited because the responsibility in this regard does not rest with my Department. Where cars are provided for personnel in semi-State bodies the main concern of my Department is to secure an appropriate adjustment in the level of pay of the individuals concerned in cases where I have statutory responsibility. In the light of the debate just adjourned, I might mention that the Devlin Review Body in setting the salaries of many of the CEOs of State bodies made adjustments to the appropriate salary levels in the context of whether a car or a car allowance was provided. Indeed, the Devlin Review Body adjusted their recommendations on the levels of salary appropriate to office holders in the Government on the basis of a car being a benefit-in-kind. Apart from that, the question of costs whether in terms of the provision of cars or of car loans is a matter for the appropriate Minister and of course for the Minister for Finance who has overall public expenditure control responsibility.