S.I. No. 502/1997:

ORDER, entitled PROMPT PAYMENT OF ACCOUNTS ACT, 1997 (Rate of Interest Penalty) Order, 1997.

ORDER, entitled PROMPT PAYMENT OF ACCOUNTS ACT, 1997 (Rate of Interest Penalty) Order, 1997.

I, Mary Harney, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 10 (1) of the Prompt Payment of Accounts Act, 1997 (No. 31 of 1997) (as adapted by the Enterprise and Employment (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister), Order, 1997 ( S.I. No. 305 of 1997 ), after consultation with the Minister for Finance, hereby order as follows:.

1. (1) This Order may be cited as the Prompt Payment of Accounts Act, 1997 (Rate of Interest Penalty) Order, 1997.

(2) This Order shall come into operation on the 2nd day of January, 1998.

2. The rate of interest penalty payable pursuant to section 4 (2) of the Prompt Payment of Accounts Act, 1997 (No. 31 of 1997) shall be 0.0322 per cent per day.

GIVEN under my Official Seal this 16th day of December, 1997.

Mary Harney,

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

This Order sets out the interest rate which will be applicable on late payment, as required by Section 10 of the Act. The rate specified in the Order is 0.0322% per day, which is the equivalent of 11.75% per annum. It will be reviewed on a six-monthly basis and will, if deemed necessary, be amended in accordance with Section 10(1) of the Act.