MLA questions Stormont cars
THE provision of full-time, chauffeur-driven cars for Stormont ministers should be reconsidered in the present economic climate, it has been claimed.
Assembly figures reveal a total of almost 1.3 million was spent on a pool of 17 cars available for use by government departments over the course of the past three financial years.
The expenditure incorporates running costs including drivers' wages, fuel and car maintenance.
The official cars – which clocked up a collective 1,107,884 miles since April 2007 – are used to transport the Assembly's 13 ministers and senior civil servants.
East Londonderry MLA John Dallat, who obtained the information through a written question to Finance Minister Sammy Wilson, described the public payout as an "extravagance".
"There is now a need for a tightening-of-the-belt in terms of how we spend public money," the SDLP man said.
"It is questionable whether a regional assembly needs full-time, chauffeur-driven cars for ministers.
"There should only be a pool of them available at Stormont to take ministers out on official visits.
"The idea of these cars being sent out at dawn to lift ministers at far flung places to drive them to Belfast is, I believe, an extravagance."
Mr Dallat also claimed ordinary taxpayers would have great difficulty "accepting or understanding" why private secretaries should avail of such transport.
In a related Assembly question, Ulster Unionist MLA Sam Gardiner queried the number of journeys made by senior civil servants.
In his response, Mr Wilson revealed a total of 8,701 separate journeys were made using the official pool cars – however, there was huge disparity between government departments.
Officials at the Department for Culture, Arts and Leisure made only 69 trips over the three-year period.
In comparison, civil servants within the office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister made 1,989 journeys.
When contacted by the News Letter, a spokeswoman for the Department of Finance and Personnel insisted Stormont ministers required the transport service in order to effectively carry out their "full range of duties".
"These duties may often involve significant travel to multiple locations on any given day," she said.
"The service also provides the minister the opportunity to review papers or discuss issues while travelling between appointments."
She added: "Obviously, given the austerity measures being considered by the Executive, every line of spending will be examined for possible reductions."
Commenting on the number of journeys relating to civil servants, the DFP spokeswoman emphasised government departments were not uniform in size.
She said: "The responsibilities of both the departments and of individual civil servants vary and these impact on the amount of official car transport required."
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Monday 28 May 2012
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