I propose to take Questions Nos. 626, 631, 632 and 634 together.
I want to emphasise that Dublin Port is an independent commercial State company and receives no Exchequer funding.
On foot of the recent media reports I immediately sought a meeting with the port. I can confirm that I have met with representatives from Dublin Port Company including the Chair and the CEO, to discuss the issues in detail.
The port outlined a number of areas of spending where credit cards are used and detailed how this spending is approved in advance at the correct management or board level, in accordance with internal company procedures. The port has stated there is no allegation of wrongdoing made in any report and that the leak of data to the media has been notified to the Data Protection Commissioner.
In addition, the port has engaged external consultants to carry out an independent review of all credit card expenditure and the company’s policies and procedures around credit card use. This is to determine whether all expenditure was appropriate and properly authorised. The report is expected to be completed in approximately eight weeks.