David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 18:

In page 86, line 30, after “undertakings” to insert “to be made within 30 days”.

I assume the Minister has been lobbied many times with regard to prompt payments for suppliers. The issue for them is they must wait for a long time to get paid by retailers, be they larger multiples or smaller or medium-sized retailers. It is reasonable to deal with this issue in this way, in that there should be a requirement in this regard. Perhaps the amendment is not perfect and perhaps a time period such as 30 days may in itself be imperfect, because there may be reasons a payment is not made within that period. However, the Minister is aware this is an issue for suppliers. It is a matter that has been flagged to all political parties for many years and has become a particular problem in recent years because of the downturn, during which many suppliers have gone out of business because they simply were not getting paid quickly enough. Cash flow is an important area of any business and if a company is not getting in money but is sending out the goods, it then becomes a problem.
I will be interested to hear the Minister's response in this regard. If he considers the amendment to be a somewhat crude instrument to deal with this issue, he might then offer up his solution on how to so do. This is not relevant to the grocery sector solely but is relevant to business in general. While the amendment is being tabled in the context of the Bill under discussion, I appreciate, as I am sure does the Minister, that this is a much bigger issue for businesses generally and I am interested to hear what the Minister has to say.