Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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949. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht 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. [24736/16]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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950. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht 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. [24751/16]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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951. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht 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. [24766/16]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 949 to 951, inclusive, together.

No credit cards were issued to Ministers or Ministers of State in my Department in the period in question.

Details regarding the number of credit cards held by officials in my Department and the amounts spent in 2014 and 2015 are set out in the following table. No interest was paid in either year. The controls in place to monitor the issuing of, and the expenditure on, these cards are kept under review in my Department. All expenditure on Departmental credit cards is actively monitored and all bill payments are authorised independently of the cardholder.

Issues relating to the controls in place in each State agency funded by my Department to monitor expenditure on personally held credit card bills that are subsequently used to recoup work related expenses and to the review of such controls are, in the first instance, day-to-day operational matters for the executive and boards of each such body or agency.

The same principle applies in the case of third party agencies, whether funded directly by my Department or through State agencies. My Department is making arrangements for the information requested in respect of both State and third party agencies to be collated and forwarded to the Deputy in line with the timelines set out in Standing Orders.

For the information of the Deputy, a list of the State agencies funded by my Department can be accessed at:

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