Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 113: To ask the Taoiseach 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 in which the annual expenditure on a single card exceeded €5,000 with the grade of the credit card holder; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16169/09]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The total number of official credit cards currently held by my Department is 25. One official has a credit limit of €6,350, five of the cards have credit limits of €4,000, and the remaining nineteen have credit limits of €2,500.

The following table details the annual expenditure on official departmental credit cards from 2004 to end of March 2009:

The table below details the instances where the annual expenditure on a single card exceeded €5,000 and grade of the card holder in each instance.

Departmental credit cards are used for official purposes only. They are also allocated to officials where the facility will be of practical use in meeting the requirements of official business, for example, to facilitate meeting of travel expenses and official entertainment while away from the office, the procurement of goods and services such as on-line conferences bookings, air travel, purchase of IT equipment and library supplies.

The use of official credit cards is closely monitored by the Department's Finance Unit. Expenditure must be supported by receipts which must be submitted by card holders each month as part of the approval process for the associated expenditure. The allocation and use of official credit cards are reviewed on an ongoing basis, with a view to minimising the number of cards allocated, and credit limits are assigned in line with requirements for official use on a case by case basis.