HSE fined €9m for late pay to suppliers

Money management in the HSE has been described as shocking by the Dáil’s financial watchdog after it emerged that €9m was wasted on penalties for late payments to suppliers.

The chairman of the powerful Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee, John McGuinness, said that it “beggars belief” that the health service squander such resources.

The comptroller and auditor general spotted the issue when auditing HSE books as a €9m provision had to be made because the HSE had not implemented new laws stating that unpaid suppliers were due compensation, as well as interest payments on the money owed.