Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 January 2005
180 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of credit cards issued for Departmental use to Ministers, Ministers of State or others; the person or persons authorised to use such cards; the circumstances in which use is permissible; the number of occasions on which they have been used in the life of the Government; the purpose of such use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2279/05]
View answerOver the period in question and in order to facilitate the conduct of official business, Visa cards have been issued to myself and five officials namely my private secretary, the secretary-general, the Department's finance officer, the head of IT and the Department's former secretary-general. Balances outstanding are paid directly by the Department subject to the normal Department of Finance regulations governing expenditure. The cards are used mainly for expenses related to travel-accommodation bookings and Internet purchases for items such as IT consumables and official publications in other jurisdictions. Expenditure of this nature is amenable to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General.
American Express cards are issued to facilitate officials who engage in regular official travel on behalf of my Department. Twenty-three such cards have been issued. The credit card holders in these cases are personally responsible for the clearance of amounts due to the company. Any official expenses incurred are claimed by the officials from the Department through the normal processes that apply to all official expenses. The Department pays the annual Government stamp duty charge only.
The frequency of use of these cards could only be determined by a detailed examination of a very large volume of credit card statements. I consider that such an exercise would be an unwarranted and disproportionate use of staff and other resources to identify the information sought.
