My Department has issued credit cards to the 8 office holders listed below. The Table also sets out the total amount spent on each credit card since March 2011.
Credit card holder
|
Total €
|
Private Secretary to the Minister
|
14,298.07
|
Private Secretary to Minister of State (Housing)
|
2,847.17
|
Private Secretary to Minister of State (New Era)
|
1,510.06
|
Principal Officer, ICT Section
|
17,172.59
|
Head of Administration and Training Division, Met Eireann
|
21,458.11
|
Principal Advisor, Environment Inspectorate
|
19.05
|
Assistant Principal Officer, Environmental Compliance and Air Quality Section
|
19.05
|
Assistant Principal Officer, Environment International and Sustainable Development Section
|
3,820.54
|
Departmental credit cards are issued for authorised official use only in circumstances where a strong business case has been established. Cards are withdrawn when the business case no longer exists and transferred into the name of the incoming officer, as appropriate, when there is a reassignment of duties.
Credit cards are issued to the private secretaries to the Minister and Ministers of State to facilitate payment for goods or services which would prove more difficult under normal invoicing arrangements, such as reserving hotel accommodation abroad. In the cases of Met Éireann and ICT, the credit cards are used to facilitate the purchase of ICT hardware and software licences and for the renewal of subscriptions to work-related publications. The remaining three staff have been issued with credit cards to facilitate the conduct of official business during the Irish Presidency.