Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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39. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of credit cards issued to Ministers and officials working in her Department; the amount spent on credit cards by her Department in 2014 and in 2015; the amount of bank interest paid on credit cards in 2014 and 2015; the controls in place to monitor the issuing of and the expenditure on these cards; the controls in place in each agency to monitor expenditure on personally held credit card bills that are subsequently used to recoup work related expenses; if these controls are being reviewed in view of recent events in agencies funded by the HSE; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24746/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that over the period in question, 6 credit cards were held by officials in certain posts in my Department. Currently, official credit cards are held by two officials within my Department. No new credit cards were authorised during the period. In 2014 the total expenditure charged to these cards amounted to €25,243.27, whilst a sum of €27,588.36 was charged in 2015. No bank interest was incurred in these periods.

All applications for credit cards must be made in writing accompanied by a business case and submitted to the Assistant Secretary with responsibility for Finance who, if in agreement, submits for approval to the Secretary General. If approved, the card is issued on the basis that it will be used exclusively for official purposes. All bills are processed for payment on a monthly basis and individual transactions are scrutinised by the Department's Financial Management Unit to ensure they are appropriate to a charge on the Department's Vote. All credit card expenditure must be accompanied by receipts and when submitted in support of an expense claim must be approved by a line manager who is senior to the applicant.

Credit cards of this nature are utilised as a business tool which is tightly controlled and facilitates the efficient and cost effective discharge of Departmental business. In some instances it is not possible to procure goods and services without a credit card, where for example, suppliers insist upon advance payment or for on-line purchases. The control process is kept under review but my Department is satisfied that the controls in place restrict the number of such cards to a minimum and that the priority is ensuring best value for money.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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40. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of credit cards issued to staff working in each State agency funded by her Department, in tabular form; the number of cards per funded agency; the amount spent by credit card in 2014 and 2015 by each agency; the amount of bank interest paid on credit cards in 2014 and 2015; the controls in place to monitor the issuing of and the expenditure on these cards; the controls in place in each agency to monitor expenditure on personally held credit card bills that are subsequently used to recoup work related expenses; if these controls are being reviewed in view of recent events in agencies funded by the HSE; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24761/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that over the period in question, 2 credit cards were held by officials in the National Disability Authority, an Agency funded by my Department's Vote. Details of the total expenditure charged to these cards are as set out in the following table. No bank interest was incurred in these periods.

All applications for credit cards must be accompanied by a business case and submitted to the Assistant Secretary with responsibility for Finance, who, if in agreement, in turn submits it for approval to the Secretary General. If approved, the card is issued on the basis that it will be used exclusively for official purposes. All bills are processed for payment on a monthly basis and individual transactions are scrutinised by the Department's Financial Management Unit to ensure they are appropriately charged to the Department's Vote. All credit card expenditure must be accompanied by receipts and when submitted in support of an expense claim must be approved by a line manager who is senior to the applicant. The control process is kept under review but my Department is satisfied that value for money is the key priority.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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41. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of credit cards issued to staff working in any third party agency funded by her Department, in tabular form; the number of cards per funded agency; the amount spent by credit card in 2014 and 2015 by each agency; the controls in place to monitor the issuing of and the expenditure on these cards; the controls in place in each agency to monitor expenditure on credit card bills that are subsequently used to recoup work related expense; if these controls are being reviewed in view of recent events in agencies funded by the HSE; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24776/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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On an annual basis, my Department provides funding to approximately 300 third party non governmental bodies.

In terms of gaining assurance on the control environment operating within these bodies, It has not been the practice to require internal operational details at a level requested by the Deputy. Instead my Department relies to a large extent on independent external audit assurance that satisfactory internal controls are in place over the probity of transactions and conducts its own audits on a rotating basis. This ensures that the requirements of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform's Circular 13 of 2014 "Management of and Accountability for Grants from Exchequer Funds" are implemented to the fullest extent. In addition to the existing safeguards, my Department is currently examining the potential for additional measures to strengthen governance procedures in relation to such third party bodies.