Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide in tabular form, in respect of 2011, the number of payments issued by his Department and each agency within the remit of his Department to suppliers in respect of the supply of goods and services; splitting the payments between those issued within 30 days of receipt of the invoice; between 30 and 60 days of receipt of the invoice; between 60 and 90 days of receipt of the invoice; between 90 and 120 days of receipt of the invoice; and in excess of 120 days of receipt of the invoice. [45020/12]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The information requested by the Deputy is not routinely collected by my Department. However, I can assure the Deputy that both my Department and the agencies under its aegis make every effort to comply with the terms set out in the Prompt Payments of Accounts Act, 1997.

My Department is committed to making every effort to pay its suppliers promptly. In line with Government Decision No. S29296 of 19 May 2009, every effort, consistent with proper financial procedures, is being made to ensure that all suppliers are paid within 15 calendar days of receipt of a valid invoice. My Department publishes quarterly reports on prompt payments on our website and the reports for 2011 can be viewed at www.doh.ie.

In relation to the HSE, I can assure the Deputy that the Executive is committed to standard payment terms of 30 days. However, given the multitude of processing centres across the HSE, and indeed within its individual units, in order to meet a 15 day period, it would require the introduction of a single financial and procurement system. Whilst there are plans in this regard, it will be some time before this is in place. Taking into account that over 7,000 invoices are received daily by the Executive across a multiplicity of service delivery units, it has consistently been my Department's view that it is not logistically possible to apply the 15 day payment rule to the HSE at this time.

Notwithstanding this, the introduction of Prompt Payments legislation and the refinancing arrangements introduced and overseen by this Department have seen the HSE comprehensively address the issue of late payment. It should be noted that as a result of the improvement in payments, the HSE only paid €324,000 in prompt payment interest in 2011, which was just one third of 1% of its non-pay budget for that year.

As regards the other agencies under the aegis of my Department, work is underway to redesign their IT systems to capture the appropriate data in order to publish this information on their websites in line with the Government Decision. It should be acknowledged that many of these agencies receive either minimal or no funding from my Department, and in all cases, the vast majority of invoices are paid within the terms of the Prompt Payment of Accounts Act.