Late payment costs hospital €200k

Beaumont Hospital owes around €200,000 in interest and compensation to suppliers over its failure to pay them on time.

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.