Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent)
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135. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the way his Department's contracts for taxi companies for the transportation 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. [4643/14]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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My Department does not have a contract with a particular taxi company but rather has an account with a specific company for the use of Departmental staff for certain business purposes, when absolutely necessary. Standard taxi fares apply for the business journey, which my Department recoup s to the company concerned on a n on-going basis. In addition, from time to time a staff member may recoup the costs of a journey undertaken by taxi without recourse to any specific company where circumstances require it.

In the context of official travel, it is Departmental policy that public transport should be used wherever possible, where it is deemed necessary to travel for business purposes. Staff are only permitted to hire taxies or to use their cars to travel to and from meetings where no suitable public transport (e.g. train or bus ) is available, where public transport is available only at equal or greater expense or where the use of public transport would result in the loss of official time which it is necessary to avoid. Staff travelling between Departmental offices, where public transport options are available, may claim the costs of travel on the basis of public transport rates (train/ bus) only.

The cost of hiring taxies is part of the overall administrative overhead of my Department. Expenditure is closely monitored and no specific budget for taxi costs is set.