Financial Information
- Published on: 28 November 2018
- Last updated on: 4 February 2025
The Annual Appropriation Account of the department is audited by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General.
Payments in excess of €20,000
DRCD will publish details of payments made by the department with a value of, or in excess of, €20,000 on a quarterly basis.
The department will publish these details in line with the commitment in the Public Service Reform Plan.
Some payments may be excluded if their publication would be prevented under Freedom of Information legislation. Payments in relation to grants, for grants-in-aid, reimbursements, etc have also already been excluded.
Please note:
- payments are inclusive of VAT where appropriate
- suppliers subject to withholding tax will have it deducted at point of payment which may decrease the amount actually paid to under €20,000
- penalty interest may be added at point of payment for late payments over 30 days (or whatever is agreed with the supplier) which will increase the payment
- although a payment may have been raised it is possible that no payments have been made yet. In that case 'No' would appear in the Paid (Yes/No) column
- the report should include payments for goods or services and does not include, grants-in-aid, reimbursements etc
Prompt payments
It is a government requirement that all central government departments, the Health Service Executive, the local authorities and all other public sector bodies (excluding commercial semi-state bodies) pay their suppliers within 15 calendar days of receipt of a valid invoice.
This arrangement does not alter contractual relationships and does not change the legal position in relation to late payments.
The Department of Business Enterprise and Innovation collates and publishes the composite quarterly returns by central government departments of payments made to their suppliers within 15 days.
Reporting requirements
As part of the 15-day prompt payment requirement, government departments and relevant public sector bodies are required to publish on their respective websites, their quarterly payment performance reports. Government departments are also required to publish the quarterly composite reports covering the bodies under their aegis.
Prompt payment official notice
Small businesses can attach an official notice of the 15-day prompt payment requirement to relevant invoices. Small businesses themselves should refer instances of non-adherence to the relevant government department.
Compensation amounts
Compensation for recovery costs should be paid automatically to the supplier without the necessity of a reminder. The regulations provide that the following 'flat rates' should be used:
| Amount of Late Payment (i.e. Invoice Value) | Compensation Amount (€) | |
| Not exceeding €1,000 | 40 | |
| Exceeding €1,000 but not exceeding €10,000 | 70 | |
| Exceeding €10,000 | 100 |
Notes
In addition to the compensation for recovery costs set out in the above schedule, the 2012 regulations also entitles the supplier to obtain further recovery costs, for example, the cost of using a solicitor or employing a debt collection agency.
Consultancies
The department has occasional requirements for management and other consultancy services and research which may be needed to provide advice or specialised technical expertise which is not otherwise available to the department.
A detailed breakdown of the annual expenditure on Consultancy is available below
