Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 414: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the amount his Department and its agencies spent on the use of taxis in 2007, 2008 and to date in 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22669/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Foreign Affairs taxi policy is based on the principle that taxi use by officers should only take place where it is clearly required for the conduct of official business. The policy operated by my Department provides that taxis may be used for official business when public transport is not available or feasible and when officers are required, because of work or official travel commitments, to travel early in the morning or late at night. Officers frequently need to use taxis when travelling to and from airports, when travelling abroad on official business, particularly to locations where public transport is either unavailable or unsafe. The Department's Missions abroad also need to use taxis on a regular basis, particularly in locations in developing countries where taxi use is often the only viable means of transport.

This policy provides a balance between the need to minimise the cost to the exchequer while recognising that the particular nature of the Department's work will, inevitably, require continued use of taxis. The Department's expenditure on taxi usage is monitored and was recently the subject of an internal review. This has resulted in a reduction in the use of taxis, as reflected in the figures below. I am confident that the Department will continue to make savings over the course of the current year. The information requested by the Deputy is contained in the following table.

The figures for Headquarters show expenditure on taxis by the Department in both Limerick and Dublin (in Dublin, the Department has accounts with two taxi companies), as well as expenditure incurred by officials of the Department travelling overseas on official business. The figures for the Department's 75 missions abroad (Embassies, Consulates and other offices) show expenditure on taxis by officers assigned abroad.

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 415: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the amount of banking charges paid by his Department over the past three years; the breakdown of these charges; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22883/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is responsible for operating the Irish diplomatic network of 75 Missions overseas. The transfer of funds to operate these Missions, whose aggregate running costs amount to approximately €70 million per annum, incurs unavoidable banking charges. In addition, there are banking charges incurred by the Passport Office when accepting credit card payments from citizens for passport services.

The Irish Aid programme, which is managed by the Development Cooperation Division of my Department, also incurs banking charges on the transfer of funds to the various Irish Aid programme countries and recipients. In 2008, the total programme expenditure of Irish Aid amounted to €734 million.

The following table sets out details of banking charges incurred by my Department, in Ireland, over the past three years.

* Payments made through the LGCSB to Realex for discounted fees for credit card transactions in respect of passport applications.

Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 416: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the amount spent by his Department each year for the past three years on bottled water; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22897/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Foreign Affairs maintains a stock of bottled water for use at meetings and other official events which take place at headquarters. The amount spent by the Department on bottled water for such events over the past three years is as follows: 2006 - €3,780; 2007 - €5,597; 2008 - €4,154; 2009 (to date) - €1,624.