Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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164. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the duration of the merchant agreement where payment by debit or credit card is accepted for services provided by his Department or bodies under the aegis of his Department to the public; when the term of the agreement will end; if the merchant agreement is awarded by way of tender; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15742/14]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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There are two areas within my Department where payment by credit and debit card is accepted for services provided. There are different merchant agreements in place in both cases neither of which have a definite expiry date.

In relation to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, when it began to accept on-line debit and credit card payments in 2006, it was decided to use the on-line payments service offered by the Local Government Computer Services Board and the merchant rates which were associated with that service. The current arrangements are under review.

In the case of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, a bank account was put in place to facilitate customers to pay their non-national registration fees following a tender competition. The credit and debit card facility was incorporated in the original agreement with the successful tenderer.