Late payment costs hospital €200k
It has emerged that the hospital — one of the busiest in the country — has not complied with legislation introduced in March 2013 which imposes financial penalties on State bodies that fail to pay bills promptly.
In its newly published annual financial statement for 2014, the hospital’s board said it had not paid late interest or compensation because it had opted instead to negotiate extended payment terms with suppliers.
The hospital estimates that its suppliers are due approximately €200,000 in interest and compensation over its failure to comply with the legislation.
Comptroller & Auditor General Seamus McCarthy noted that the hospital had not made provision for such amounts in its accounts.
The issue is likely to be the focus of scrutiny by the public spending watchdog, the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee, during the next Dáil term.
The C&AG also noted that Beaumont’s board is in apparent breach of its own policy in relation to the opening of bank accounts in the name of the hospital.
It followed a request by the C&AG’s office of the hospital’s bankers to provide details of accounts operated by Beaumont Hospital. As a result, it emerged that there is an issue over the ownership of six accounts which hold balances of €159,737.
However, the hospital’s board said it was satisfied that no transactions took place during 2014 between its seven official accounts and these six other accounts.
The annual financial statement also revealed that a review of allowances paid by the hospital to staff showed some were still unapproved by the HSE. A total of 24 allowances worth €157,129 were related to staff whom Beaumont claims have a contractual entitlement to such payments.
