Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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293. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when his officials will make a final determination on the sanction of compensation to be paid to a club (details supplied) agreed in principle by the Department of Education in April 2021. [43978/21]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Due diligence must be given to any proposal that involves additional expenditure by the Exchequer, including by reference to the requirements set out in the Public Financial Procedures manual.  In this instance, D/PER received a submission from the Department of Education on 30 April regarding a proposed settlement to the club in question.  There was no engagement with my officials on any proposed agreement prior to this submission.  My Department subsequently sought further clarifications on a number of issues from the Department of Education and received a response to these queries on 18 August. My officials are continuing to engage with the Department of Education on foot of this additional information with a view to bringing this issue to a conclusion in as timely a manner as possible.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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294. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the amount paid in late interest payments and penalty payments by his Department in each of the years 2017 to 2020 and to date in 2021 in respect of late payments being made to suppliers, service providers and contractors in tabular form; and the measures he has put in place and or is implementing to reduce late payment interest and penalty payments. [44009/21]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The relevant information in respect of penalty interest is set out in the table below.  As can be seen from the table, my Department has reduced the overall level of penalty interest incurred in recent years across its three Votes.  Due to the devolved nature of budgeting within the Department, the Finance Unit works with business units where penalty interest has been charged to establish the circumstances as to why penalty interest was charged and to put in place local processes to ensure that it does not reoccur.  As well as working with business units throughout the year, the Finance Unit also holds annual training and awareness sessions in order to refresh staff knowledge of public sector financial and procurement rules and regulations.  As part of the monthly internal financial management reporting, the Management Board is also provided with details of any penalty interest.

* OGCIO Vote was established in 2020.

Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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295. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if her Department has utilised the services of organisations (details supplied) at any time from 1 January 2015 to date; if so, the expenditure costs related to same; the purpose of any such engagements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43248/21]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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I can advise that my Department has not engaged the services of the organisation outlined.