Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent)
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117. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the way his departmental contracts for taxi companies for the purposes of taxis for the use of departmental staff are decided and allocated; if there is a public tender process for taxi companies wishing to apply for these contracts; the process for allocating the contracts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4638/14]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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My Department has no contractual arrangement for the provision of taxi services with any company. However, taxis are used from time to time, in accordance with guidance issued by my Department, to staff on the use of taxis for official purposes. To facilitate making payments in these cases, my Department maintains an account with a taxi service company but there is no contract involved. Expenditure on taxis is kept to a minimum. The guidance issued to staff states that taxis may be used for official purposes if they provide best value for money in relation to attendance at meetings or where other forms of transport would be impractical.