FIANNA Fail has criticised the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Bruton, for rejecting the party's Prompt Payments Bill.

"The Minister is behaving in a most petty fashion and is displaying a flat earth outlook by rejecting a Bill just because it has been produced by the Opposition," said the Fianna Fail spokeswoman on enterprise and employment, Ms Mary O'Rourke.

The Bill has fulfilled all the criteria of the Oireachtas and has met the standards laid down by the Dail for private members Bills, she said.

"We had said all along that if the Minister wanted to put forward amendments, we would look at these in a co operative fashion."

At the rate they were going, the Government's Bill on late payments would not be out this side of an election, Ms O'Rourke said. Page 4