Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 439: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the amount of interest paid by him in respect of the late payments for goods or services contracted by his Department for the past five years to date in 2009; the steps being taken to ensure that money is appropriately spent and that payments are made on time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25855/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The interest paid by my Department in respect of late payment for goods or services is as follows:

My Department is fully committed to complying with the terms of the Prompt Payment Regulations and also with the recent Government decision that all Departments commit to paying suppliers within 15 days of receipt of valid invoices. Procedures have been put in place to process payments promptly and there is on-going monitoring and reporting to ensure compliance.

My Department ensures that all expenditure is in accordance with the requirements of the Department of Finance's "Public Financial Procedures" and the Department's own financial procedures manual. All expenditure is subject to audit scrutiny by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Department's own Internal Audit Unit. In addition, all non-Voted funds disbursed by my Department on behalf of the European Union are also subject to audit by EU Commission auditors, the European Court of Auditors and the certifying body for EU accredited paying agencies.