Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 144: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of expense account credit cards paid by his Department; the credit limit on each card; the amount spent on expense account credit cards since 2004 to date in 2009; the instances where the annual expenditure on a single credit card exceeded €5,000 with the grade of the credit card holder; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16067/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Foreign Affairs operates a limited system for the use of corporate credit cards for official expenditure. There are currently 10 official credit cards issued by the Department in Ireland. A list of office holders issued with these official credit cards; details of credit cards which are no longer in use and the credit limits on the cards are set out in the following table.

The Department issues official credit cards to Ministers, Ministers of State and a limited number of senior officers who, because of the nature of their work, need to make official payments on credit. Credit cards are used to make flight and hotel bookings, for representational purposes and for making sundry payments, at short notice, where cash may not be acceptable or where the cost involved would otherwise be too great to be met from an officer's own resources. The issue of a credit card to the Department's librarian is to facilitate the purchase on-line of books and information materials relevant to the work of the Department.

In regard to the credit limits for each card, the credit limits which apply to the Visa credit cards are detailed in the table. However the arrangement with the American Express credit cards are that no set limit applies but that the account must be settled in full every month. I understand that this is normal practise for American Express cards.

While it has not been possible in the time available to provide details of credit cards held by Irish Embassies or Consulates abroad, all items of expenditure incurred by Irish Missions, whether paid by credit card or other modes of payment, are subject to the same financial controls which operate at Headquarters.