· Late Payment Information Campaign first Seminar will be in the European Commission Offices, Dublin 2 on 9th December 2013
Mr. John Perry, T.D. Minister for Small Business, today (Tuesday) published the latest set of quarterly composite figures, which show that Government Departments and the Agencies under the auspices of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation continue to comply with the Government requirement to pay business suppliers within 15 days of receiving a valid invoice.
Figures released by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, show that Government Departments made a total of 45,793 payments in Quarter 3 of 2013 amounting to just over €748m.
Speaking on the publication of these figures, Minister Perry said, “Of the 45,793 payments made in this quarter, 39,437 payments valued at €703m were paid within 15 days. In value terms, this represents 94% of the total payments made by Government Departments and clearly shows that Departments continue their efforts to comply with the Government requirement to pay business suppliers within 15 days of receiving a valid invoice.
Minister Perry also welcomed the continuing commitment by the Agencies under the auspices of his Department to pay their suppliers within 15 days. Minister Perry said, “A total of 19,197 payments were made in Quarter 3 of 2013, amounting to just over €34m; of these, 17,319 payments amounting to €31m were paid within 15 days. In value terms, this amounts to 90% of the total payments made by Agencies.
“In recognition of the importance Government attaches to the issue of late payments, in addition to the 15 day prompt payment rule, we have put in place a number of important measures including:
· Introduction of a Prompt Payment Code of Conduct for Business, currently being developed by the various small business representative bodies with the support of my Department, aimed at improving cash flow between businesses and also helping address the culture of late payments in Ireland;
· Implementation of the EU Late Payment Directive, which came into effect on 16th March this year, aimed at improving payment practices in commercial transactions between businesses and between businesses and Public Authorities; and
· Late Payment Information Campaign, to be rolled out by my Department later this year, aimed at providing businesses with information on the Late Payment Directive and also providing a forum for sharing best practice to help SMEs obtain prompt payment.
(The Campaign will commence with the first Seminar taking place in the European Commission Offices, 18 Dawson Street, Dublin 2 on Monday, 9th December, 2013. Further details will be announced shortly).
Minister Perry concluded, “I believe, the above measures, at both National and EU level, represent significant progress on the issue of late payments in Ireland and reinforces the Government’s commitment to tackle this very important issue for businesses, particularly SMEs.”
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
Returns, for Quarter 3 of 2013, are available at:
http://www.djei.ie/enterprise/smes/govt_dept_returns_Q3_2013.pdf
http://www.djei.ie/enterprise/smes/agencies_returns_q3_2013.pdf
Key Findings of Quarter 3 (July - September) 2013 Returns
(a) Government Departments
These returns are the 17th set of returns by Government Departments:
· A total of 45,793 payments were made in Quarter 3 of 2013 amounting to just over €748m;
· Of these, a total of 39,437 payments totalling €703m were paid within 15 days;
· In value terms, this equates to 94% of total payments made;
· 12 Departments paid between 81% and 100% of invoices by value within 15 days;
· All Departments paid in excess of 95% of invoices by value within 30 days;
· 10 Departments paid between 99% and 100% of invoices by value within 30 days;
· The 6 remaining Departments paid between 96% and 98% of invoices by value within 30 days;
· 44,916 payments were made within 30 days by Departments in the above period amounting to €746m;
· In value terms, this equates to 99.7% of total payments made.
(b) Agencies under the auspices of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
These are the 9th set of returns by the 13 Agencies under the auspices of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation:
· A total of 19,197 payments were made in Quarter 3 of 2013 amounting to just over €34m;
· 17,319 payments totalling €31m. were paid within 15 days;
· In value terms, this equates to 90% of the total number of payments made;
· A further 1,596 payments, or 8% of total payments, were paid between 16 and 30 days;
· 9 Agencies paid between 84% and 100% of their invoices by value within 15 days;
· 12 Agencies paid between 96% and 100% of their invoices by value within 30 days;
· All Agencies paid between 83% and 100% of their total number of invoices within 30 days.