TÁNAISTE AND Minister for Enterprise Mary Coughlan said the Government’s pledge to pay suppliers within 15 days of invoicing had resulted in some variation between the performances of individual departments.
Ms Coughlan yesterday published figures revealed by The Irish Timesearlier this week, which showed the Departments of Justice and the Taoiseach were the worst performers. Less than half of payments to suppliers of the two departments were made within 15 days.
The Tánaiste said the initiative announced in May to reduce payment periods from 30 days of invoicing aimed to help ease cash flow difficulties for businesses. The initiative had had an impact in assisting small and medium-sized enterprises in the current difficult economic environment, she said.
“Although there was some variation between the performances of individual departments, five departments were paying in excess of 90 per cent of invoices within 15 days.
“A further seven departments were paying in excess of 83 per cent of invoices within 15 days, while the remaining three had paid almost 50 per cent of their payments within 15 days.”
Figures obtained by The Irish Timesunder the Freedom of Information Act showed more than 54 per cent of payments by the Department of Justice were made after the new target date had passed.
A total of 8,587 payments worth more than €49.5 million were made by the department in the quarter.
Just over 45 per cent of payments – representing 3,900 payments to the value of €43.7 million – were paid within 15 days.
More than 52 per cent of payments – representing more than 4,500 payments to a value of €5.6 million – were made within 16 to 30 days. Another 180 payments were made after 30 days, while a further 178 invoices are disputed.
At the Department of the Taoiseach, 47 per cent of payments were made by the target date and more than 45 per cent were made within 16 to 30 days. The department made a total of 495 payments, to a value of €2.57 million.
All departments are required to send a quarterly report to Ms Coughlan’s department. The first returns by departments cover the period June 15th to September 30th, 2009.
The Tánaiste yesterday confirmed future quarterly returns will show the overall consistency of departments in meeting the 15-day payment requirement and any changes in the performance of individual departments.
