John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 340: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will confirm the number of credit cards issued by him and to whom; the criteria for issuing such cards; the credit card company used; if a competitive process was used to select the company; if the facility has had to be withdrawn from any person; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11555/11]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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My Department has issued credit cards to the 4 office holders set out below.

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 Cards are withdrawn when the business case no longer exists and transferred into the name of the incoming officer, as appropriate, when there is a reassignment of duties.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 the Minister of State to facilitate the payment of 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 licenses and for the renewal of subscriptions to work-related publications.

The credit card service (Visa Card) has been provided by Allied Irish Banks for many years. There are no records readily available in my Department to show how this company was selected.