Departmental Expenditure

Dáil Éireann Debate, Friday - 16 September 2016

Friday, 16 September 2016

Questions (1944)

Dara Calleary

Question:

1944. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the number of credit cards issued to Ministers and officials working in his Department; the amount spent on credit cards by his Department in 2014 and in 2015; the amount of bank interest paid on credit cards in 2014 and 2015; the controls in place to monitor the issuing of and the expenditure on these cards; the controls in place in each agency to monitor expenditure on personally held credit card bills that are subsequently used to recoup work related expenses; if these controls are being reviewed in view of recent events in agencies funded by the HSE; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24739/16]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Defence (Deputy Paul Kehoe)

The number of credit cards issued to Ministers and officials working in the Department of Defence are five. Details of each card and a breakdown of expenditure for the years 2014 and 2015 are set out in the following table.

Departmental Business Credit Card Holders	Expenditure 2014	Expenditure 2015	Bank Interest 2014	Bank Interest 2015
Private Secretary to Minister for Defence	€2,373.59	€884.30	Nil	Nil
Private Secretary to the Minister of State at the Department of Defence	€3,611.38	€2,447.95	Nil	Nil
Secretary General	€70.20	€1,602.88	Nil	Nil
HR Manager	€3,616.01	€5,061.63	Nil	€1.77
INTL Security & Def Policy Branch	€1,747	€1,391.51	Nil	Nil

The Department has a Credit Card Policy in place which lays out the conditions for the use of Business Credit Cards issued by the Department. The cardholder is obliged to certify that expenditure on the cards was incurred for official purposes only and in accordance with the Departments guidelines on the use of credit cards. Expenditure on the cards is subject to continuous monitoring by the appropriate authority.