Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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312. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide, in tabular form, the total amount spent in each of the years 2011 to 2014 and in 2015 to date on staff subsistence payments and staff taxi payments; if his 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 practises in other State bodies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23686/15]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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In response to the Deputy's question, the following table details expenditure on staff subsistence payments and staff taxi payments in the years from 2011 to 2015:

During 2014, over 342 new staff joined my Department with the establishment and further development of Shared Services Offices, the Office of Government Procurement and the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer.

The Department's Appropriation Accounts are subject to annual audit by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Department's accounts are also available for audit by the Revenue Commissioners.

An audit by the Revenue Commissioners is currently in progress and to date no issues in respect of subsistence or benefit-in-kind have been brought to our attention.  The Department is vigilant in the conduct of its activities in these matters to ensure compliance with taxation legislation and Revenue guidelines.