John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)

A total of 60,666 payments totalling €1.7 billion have been paid. Some 50,000 payments were paid within 15 days which indicates a high level of compliance on behalf of semi-State bodies in a system which is currently operated on an administrative basis. I fully agree that cash flow is the backbone of any business. Given the lack of credit to small companies it is critically important that payments are made within 15 days or at the very least within 30 days. There is no sanction after the 15th day, but there is a sanction if payment is not made by the 30th day.

Clearly, Departments are moving in the right direction and we hope that in the private sector and commercial world people will pay within 30 days. In many cases, the bigger the company, the slower it can be in paying. We encourage companies to pay on time because prompt payment is the life blood of a business. We recommend that with the support of the banking sector, payment is made within 15 days. It is encouraging that some €1.722 billion was paid within 15 days.

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