Written answers

Thursday, 12 December 2019

Department of Health

Departmental Expenditure

Photo of Niall CollinsNiall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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260. To ask the Minister for Health the number of credit cards issued to Ministers and officials working in his Department; the amount spent on credit cards in each year since 2016; the bank interest paid on credit cards in each year since 2016; the controls in place to monitor the issuing of and the expenditure on the 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; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52404/19]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Please see below details of both the controls and amounts involved in Department of Health credit card transactions from 01 January 2016 to 30 November 2019.

Credit Cards 2016 – 2019 (30 Nov)

From 2016 until October 2019, the Department had two credit cards, one assigned to the Private Secretary of the Minister for Health and the other assigned to the Assistant Principal in the Accounting Unit. Currently, the Department just has one credit card, held by the Accounting Unit.

All requests for new credit cards have to be approved by the Secretary General. None are issued to the Department without his approval.

When a staff member wishes to use the credit card, they must contact the Accounting Unit for the credit card details. The staff member is then instructed to send the supporting documentation verifying this transaction to the Accounting Unit to reconcile with the monthly statement when it is received.

Since September 2019, the Department are now able to see credit card transactions going through on-line which enables reconciliations to be done on a weekly basis. All credit card transactions relating to business not relating to the Minister’s Office are processed on the credit card held in the Accounting Unit.

Credit Card Year
Amount €
Interest

Total

Overall Total

Accounting Unit
2016
21,693.76
187.66
21,881.42
Minister’s Private Secretary
2016
167.36
0.00
167.36
22,048.78
Accounting Unit
2017
19,671.47
225.52
19,896.99
Minister’s Private Secretary
2017
571.39
15.39
586.78
20,483.77
Accounting Unit
2018
26,440.13
422.19
26,862.32
Minister’s Private Secretary
2018
0.00
0.00
0.00
26,862.32
Accounting Unit
2019

to 30 Nov
42,780.02
617.08
43,397.10
Minister’s Private Secretary
2019

to 30 Nov
0.00
0.00
0.00
43,397.10
Total 2016 - 2019
112,791.97

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