Written answers
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Departmental Expenditure
Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the costs of providing hardware and software to his home and the home of Junior Minister in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12368/13]
Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the costs of providing telephone in the homes of Ministers and Junior Ministers in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12386/13]
Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the cost of telephones and ICT provided to the constituency offices including monthly phone bills of Ministers and Junior Ministers in his Department since March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12405/13]
Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if any additional costs other than telephones, ICT and monthly phone bills are being paid to constituency office by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12423/13]
Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of mobile phones in use by him and Junior Minister and politically appointed staff; the total costs of the mobile phones since March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12441/13]
Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 138 to 142, inclusive, together.
No costs have been incurred by my Department in respect of the provision of ICT facilities at the homes of the Ministers of State. The Department provides me with a fax machine in my home for official business purposes. The cost of this service to date is €1,351, including installation.
My constituency office and that of the current Minister of State with responsibility for Trade and Development are each based in the Department. The standard range of Department ICT facilities are provided to each staff member in the constituency offices and include PC, telephone, print and fax services and appropriate software licences. The estimated annual average cost to the Department to provide ICT-related services is €750 per officer; the same such costs apply for Constituency Office staff. It is not possible to separate from the monthly telephone bills those costs specifically associated with the Constituency Offices. No other costs are associated with these offices other than normal office running costs such as utilities and furnishings.
The former Minister of State with responsibility for Trade and Development, Deputy Jan O’Sullivan, was refunded €1,534 in respect of telephone costs and €1,319 was recouped to the Houses of the Oireachtas under the agreement with Government Departments for constituency office ICT facilities.
There are six mobile phones currently in use by me, the Ministers of State and politically appointed staff. The total cost of mobile telephony since March 2011 is €16,728 and includes purchase of mobile phone devices.
Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the cost of drivers of each vehicle assigned to him and Junior Ministers in his Department since March 2011; the mileage and other costs claimed in respect of each since March 2011; the overall yearly costs of Ministerial cars in 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12459/13]
Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Listed in tabular format are the details of the cost of drivers for each Minister of State at my Department in the years 2010, 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013. The figures reflect the motor travel allowances claimed for official travel undertaken, subject to guidelines as set out by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
Subsistence amounts paid to drivers and the salaries paid to the official drivers are also included on the table.
Once-off severance payments were made to drivers for Minister of State Roche and Minister of State Power in June 2011. These payments are not included in the salaries costs.
- | Mileage Costs | Subsistence costs for drivers | Salary costs |
---|---|---|---|
Minister of State Dick Roche T.D. | € | € | € |
2010 January to December | 17,242 | 32,526 | 74,402 |
2011 January to March | 3,370 | 3,439 | 13,425 |
Minister of State Lucinda Creighton T.D. | € | € | € |
2011 March to December | 4,834 | 318 | 51,087 |
2012 January to December | 9,597 | 1,058 | 73,099 |
2013 (to date) | Nil | Nil | 13,930 |
Minister of State Peter Power T.D. | € | € | € |
2010 January to December | 9,145 | 18,728 | 70,931 |
2011 January to March | 2,402 | 2,576 | 12,777 |
Minister of State Jan O’Sullivan T.D. | € | € | € |
2011 March to December | 9,169 | 4,560 | 51,174 |
2012 January | 820 | 1,252 | Nil |
Minister of State Joe Costello T.D. | € | ||
2012 January to December | 1,549 | Nil | Nil |
2013 (to date) | Nil | Nil | Nil |
Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of credit cards issued to staff and Ministers in his Department and the total costs of each card since March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12478/13]
Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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My Department, which is responsible for Vote 27 (International Cooperation) and Vote 28 (Foreign Affairs), operates a restrictive policy for the use of corporate credit cards for official expenditure. There are currently 6 official credit cards in use by my Department in Ireland and 13 in use by Missions abroad. The use of official credit cards may be permitted for officials who, because of the nature of their work, need to make official payments by this method. Credit cards are typically used to make occasional flight and hotel bookings, for making on-line purchases where it represents better value for money and for making payments at short notice, where cash may not be acceptable or where invoicing arrangements cannot be put in place.
Their use is subject to the same authorisation and control procedures as other forms of payment and decisions to issue a card are made in response to identified business needs.
While credit card companies require that the accounts be operated by named authorised signatories, it must be stressed that in my Department credit cards are used exclusively for official purposes.
The following table sets out details of each of the cards issued to my Department and their associated costs.
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade HQ | No of cards | Issuer | Fees Charged March 2011 to Date |
---|---|---|---|
Finance Unit Library Minister of State’s Office ICT Unit | One One One One | Visa Visa Visa Visa | €60 €60 €60 €60 |
Finance Unit (DCD) | One | Visa | €61 |
Minister of State’s Office (DCD) | One | American Express | €100 |
Missions Abroad | |||
Abu Dhabi | One | Visa NBAD | €55 |
Embassy, Berne | One | MasterCard | €158 |
Permanent Representation of Ireland to the European Union, Brussels | Four | Visa | €88 |
Canberra | One | 0 | |
Embassy, London | One | Visa | €61 |
Embassy, Mexico | One | American Express | €839 |
Permanent Mission to the United Nations, New York | One | Visa Card | 0 |
Embassy, Ottawa | One | American Express | €199 |
Embassy, Paris | One | Visa | €263 |
Embassy, Tokyo | One | Visa | €38 |
The credit card service providers are selected on a case by case basis by comparing the rates and terms offered by service providers to ensure best value for money.
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