Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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141. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the protocol on assistant principal officers and principal officers using their private cars and claiming unvouched expenses when official cars are available in his Department; if he has received any complaints regarding same; and the oversight that is in place to deal with same. [14842/14]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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My Department does not provide official cars for any staff.

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 use their own cars and claim the appropriate civil service mileage expenses 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 opt to use their own private vehicles but may only claim the appropriate public transport rates (train/bus) in such circumstances.