Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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161. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the amount paid in late payment interest payments for goods and services provided to his Department in each of the years from 2016 to date in 2023; and separately, the top five highest late interest payments made in each of those years, and the service and goods supplier that received the payments, in tabular form. [52648/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Under the Prompt Payment Act 1997 and SI 580 2012 European Communities (Late Payment in Commercial Transactions) Regulations 2012, prompt payment interest (PPI) is applied to valid invoices which are not processed for payment within 30 days of receipt. The applicable reference rate (rate applied by the ECB) plus the statutory interest for late payments is 8%. A compensating amount based on the value of the invoice may also be applied.

Since 2009, all Government Departments are committed to reducing the payment period to suppliers for commercial transactions from 30 to 15 calendar days.

The Department of Education provides my Department with financial shared services which includes the processing of invoices for payment. This shared service monitors the payments of invoices to ensure that suppliers are paid promptly to minimise, where possible, PPI & associated compensation payments.

From August 2020 to March 2021, due to a transition period following the establishment of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation & Science, all prompt payment returns for both this Department and the Department of Education were recorded and reported by the Department of Education. However, following the successful updating of the Financial Management System in 2021, Prompt Payment returns are being reported separately.

DFHERIS PPI

• 2021: €807.49 (Apr – Dec)
• 2022: €1,090.34
• 2023: €847.42 (Jan – Sep)