Departmental Staff Expenses

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 December 2014

Thursday, 18 December 2014

Questions (170)

Barry Cowen

Question:

170. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide, in tabular form, the total amount spent per annum in 2011, 2012, 2013 and to date in 2014 on staff subsistence payments and taxi payments; if his Department has been audited for tax compliance on these payments and other benefits-in-kind; if these processes have been revised in view of Revenue Commissioners' concerns over practices in other State bodies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49330/14]

Written answers

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform

In response to the Deputy's question please see  in the following table details of the total annual spend on  staff subsistence payments and staff taxi payments for the years 2011, 2012, 2013 and to date in 2014.

Year	2011	2012	2013	To date 2014
Staff Subsistence Payments	€147,923.94	€211,881.60	€280,746.09	€173,358.17
Staff Taxi Payments	€3,492.06	€5,638.27	€6,983.41	€6,196.55

In addition, the Department has a contracted taxi service and the payments to that company in respect of usage of the service over the years in question are set out in the following table. An element of the cost relates to administration charges for the taxi company.

2011	2012	2013	To date 2014
€102.96	€3,779.17	€6,257.82	€9,797.44

The Department's Appropriation Accounts are subject to annual audit by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General. The Department has not been audited for tax compliance on these payments or other benefits in kind by the Revenue Commissioners but is vigilant in the conduct of its activities in these matters to ensure compliance with taxation legislation and Revenue guidelines.