The Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association has warned that persistent late payments by big companies and State bodies are having a disastrous effect on small and medium businesses.
ISME said the survival of many smaller enterprises is threatened by late payment and many face bankruptcy because of the changed bank lending policies.
It accuses the Government of standing idly by and refusing to accept the new realities.
The ISME Credit Watch Survey was carried out in the second week of April and had over 680 respondents from the small and medium sector.
The results show the average payment period in Ireland for the sector is the longest on record at 69 days, with only one in five companies being paid within 30 days.
32% are experiencing delays of 90 days and one in ten are waiting over 120 days.
Smaller businesses are, on average, owed twice as much trade credit as they themselves owe to larger businesses.
ISME wants the Government to introduce mandatory credit terms of 30 days as was initially intended by the prompt payment legislation.
