Government should cut up credit cards

In a week in which the Central Bank issued a stern warning that people were becoming more reliant on credit to finance their spending, the Government could set an example by cutting back on its credit cards.

Astonishingly, there are 299 credit cards issued to ministers, officials and various luminaries.

Top of the league is the Department of Agriculture with an incredible 124 cards, whereas the Department of Education warrants only three. The Taoiseach's Department has 22.

Those figures were elicited by Fine Gael's Bernard Durkan through a Parliamentary Question but not how much was spent on them.

Obviously, ministers, most junior ministers and some of their top officials enjoy the convenience of cards, but there seems to be a proliferation of plastic.

Because the overall credit card expenditure for last year was not forthcoming, people can speculate on how much was spent by what was established in a Freedom of Information application.

In the first eight months of last year, 11 ministers spent 67,200, which represents impressive wining and dining on just a fraction of the official cards.

The lack of information on how much public money is being spent on these cards could be reflected by the attitude of Justice Minister Michael McDowell's in relation to the five Visa and 23 American Express cards in his department.

In a written reply to Mr Durkan in which he explains to whom and why they are issued, Mr McDowell said the frequency of their use could only be determined by a detailed examination of a very large volume of statements. This, he considered, would be an unwarranted and disproportionate use of staff and other resources to identify the information sough.

Obviously, there is a very substantial amount of public money involved in the use of 299 credit cards. While no one is implying it is being misused, with all due respect to Mr McDowell, monitoring the use of public funds is superior to the inconvenience it would cause.