Departmental Expenditure

Tuesday, 12 March 2013

Questions (144)

Robert Troy

Question:

144. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of credit cards issued to staff and Ministers in his Department; the total costs of each card since March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12478/13]

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Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

My Department, which is responsible for Vote 27 (International Cooperation) and Vote 28 (Foreign Affairs), operates a restrictive policy for the use of corporate credit cards for official expenditure. There are currently 6 official credit cards in use by my Department in Ireland and 13 in use by Missions abroad. The use of official credit cards may be permitted for officials who, because of the nature of their work, need to make official payments by this method. Credit cards are typically used to make occasional flight and hotel bookings, for making on-line purchases where it represents better value for money and for making payments at short notice, where cash may not be acceptable or where invoicing arrangements cannot be put in place.

Their use is subject to the same authorisation and control procedures as other forms of payment and decisions to issue a card are made in response to identified business needs.

While credit card companies require that the accounts be operated by named authorised signatories, it must be stressed that in my Department credit cards are used exclusively for official purposes.

The following table sets out details of each of the cards issued to my Department and their associated costs.

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade HQ	No of cards	Issuer	Fees Charged March 2011 to Date
Finance Unit	One	Visa	€60
Library	One	Visa	€60
Minister of State’s Office	One	Visa	€60
ICT Unit	One	Visa	€60
Finance Unit (DCD)	One	Visa	€61
Minister of State’s Office (DCD)	One	American Express	€100
Missions Abroad
Abu Dhabi	One	Visa NBAD	€55
Embassy, Berne	One	MasterCard	€158
Permanent Representation of Ireland to the European Union, Brussels	Four	Visa	€88
Canberra	One		0
Embassy, London	One	Visa	€61
Embassy, Mexico	One	American Express	€839
Permanent Mission to the United Nations, New York	One	Visa Card	0
Embassy, Ottawa	One	American Express	€199
Embassy, Paris	One	Visa	€263
Embassy, Tokyo	One	Visa	€38

The credit card service providers are selected on a case by case basis by comparing the rates and terms offered by service providers to ensure best value for money.