asked the Minister for the Environment in respect of his reply to Parliamentary Question No. 91 of 2 February, 1988, the way in which his Department determines the grants which are in course of payment in accordance with the terms used in this reply, and if the term in course of payment has a precise meaning in terms of public accounting.
Written Answers. - Department of Environment Grants.
90.
The term "actually come in course of payment" which was used in the reply to the parliamentary question referred to is contained in section 24 of the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act, 1866. My Department interpret this matter in accordance with paragraph 13 of the booklet "An outline of Irish Financial Procedures" issued by the Department of Finance in 1976 which states that the term means that the liability has matured and that the operation of authorising payment has been completed before the year end. The established procedures for processing and making payments were followed in every respect in relation to the year in question.