The Government is preparing legislation to ensure the prompt payment of bills by Government Departments and agencies, according to the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton.

Speaking to members of the Small Firms' Association in Dublin yesterday, Mr Bruton said the Government would set an example" in prompt payment. The final proposals under the legislation would be brought to Government by the Minister for Enterprise and Employment within the next two months, he said.

The legislation would cover the period within which payment must be made and penalties would be imposed on bodies failing to meet the relevant deadline, according to Mr Bruton.

"The move to reduce payment times will have substantial once off costs for the Exchequer and, accordingly, the setting of the payment period will have to reflect this reality."

These measures alone, however, were "insufficient", he said, as there was an equally strong obligation on the business sector also to respect prompt payment.

Another important area being tackled was the reduction of legislative and administrative burdens on business generally, Mr Bruton said. As much of this burden could be attributed to the growing body of EU legislation, he said the Department of Enterprise and Employment was closely liaising with the EU Commission on the issue currently.

Much of the criticism for the administrative burden had been "unjustly" aimed at the Central Statistics Office, Mr Bruton told the SFA. For its part, he said, the CSO "constantly fights at EU level to minimise the level of detail sought."