Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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207. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide, in tabular form, the total amount spent in each year from 2011 to 2014 and in 2015 to date on staff subsistence payments, staff taxi payments; if her Department has been audited for tax compliance on these payments and other benefits in kind; if these processes have been revised, in view of the Revenue Commissioners concerns over practices in other State bodies; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23687/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The total amount spent on staff subsistence payments and staff taxi payments by my Department for the period 2011 to 12 June, 2015 is outlined in the following table.

Staff in the Department are paid travel (not included in above table) and subsistence expenses where such costs are incurred wholly and exclusively in the course of a person’s business. This does not attract benefit in kind. Travel and subsistence expenses are paid in accordance with Civil Service rules and regulations. Where taxi costs are paid wholly and exclusively in the course of a person’s business they are not subject to benefit in kind. Given the nature of the Department's business significant numbers of staff incur travel and subsistence expenses in carrying out their duties.

In 2011 and 2012 BIK payments were made to staff working in the IS Services area in respect of travel. Staff in receipt of these BIK allowances were paid through the Department’s payroll and were subject to PAYE and PRSI deductions. These BIK allowances were reviewed in 2012 as part of the review of all BIK allowances requested by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) and as a result these allowances subject to BIK were withdrawn on 31^stDecember 2012.

Currently the Department makes no payments that are subject to BIK.

No tax compliance audits have or are being conducted by the Revenue Commissioners.