Vol. 477 No. 5
275 Mr. Aylward asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment when the proposed prompt payment legislation will be published; and if he will ensure that this legislation is extended to include the private sector and, in particular, small firms who are finding it extremely difficult to continue in business and whose only course of action is through the courts, which they cannot afford. [9630/97]
The Prompt Payment of Accounts Bill, 1997 was published on Friday last, 11 April and, hopefully, will progress through both this House and the Seanad without delay. The purpose of the Bill is to ensure the prompt payment of amounts due to suppliers of goods and services by public sector purchasers and by contractors on public sector contracts.
While the Bill applies primarily to public sector purchasers, all suppliers to the public sector, including small business suppliers, will benefit from the legislation.
A key provision of the Bill is an automatic entitlement to interest in respect of the late payments. Any interest due cannot be waived and must be paid without any demand for its payment being made by the supplier. This provision will be of particular benefit to small business who might otherwise be reluctant to pursue their interest entitlements for fear of possibly jeopardising future contracts.
The Bill does not generally apply to private sector purchasers. However, private contractors on public sector contracts will be obliged to comply with the payment provisions of the Bill, so as to ensure that the benefits flowing to main contractors from being paid on time by the public sector bodies will be passed on, in turn, to their suppliers. Again, this provision will be of significant advantage to small business.
