Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 March 2020
487. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation her views on the compliance levels here and the possible level of exposure facing Ireland in respect of a recent court case (details supplied). [3853/20]
View answerLate payment in commercial transactions is governed by the European Communities (Late Payment in Commercial Transactions) Regulations 2012 - SI 580 of 2012 which give legal effect to Directive 2011/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 on combating late payment in commercial transactions.
Under these Regulations it is an implied term of every commercial transaction that where a purchaser does not pay for goods or services by the relevant payment date, the supplier shall be entitled to late payment interest on the amount outstanding.
The 2012 Regulations provide that public authorities must pay for goods and services they procure within 30 days of receipt of a valid invoice or as specified in a contract (which cannot exceed 30 days). Failure to do so incurs late payment interest.
Compliance levels of Government Departments and public bodies with the Regulation are excellent. In the latest reporting period, Q4 of 2019, 98% of invoices received by Departments were paid within 30 days. For the state bodies under the aegis of my Department, 99% of invoices were paid within 30 days. Individual Departments are responsible for reporting on the compliance levels of bodies under their aegis.
In line with its commitment to address the issue of late payments the Irish Government has gone a step further than the strict requirement of the Regulation by requiring public authorities to pay for goods and services within 15 days. Compliance with the 15-day requirement has also been strong among Government Departments with 83% paying within 15 days (in the latest reporting period) and 92% of invoices received by agencies under the remit of my Department paying within 15 days.
To further encourage compliance, each Department is required to compile and publish their own quarterly payment performance reports as well as those of the bodies under their remit on their websites.
In addition, in 2017 a commitment was made that public sector bodies would pay late payment interest and compensation costs (minimum of €40) automatically after 30 days without an obligation on the provider to request such a payment.
The various measures undertaken by my Department and across Government to ensure the terms of the Regulation have been observed have gone beyond mere transposition of the Directive and are proving very successful as is evident from the high level of compliance reported.
