The Irish Times said on Tuesday, that it had suspended supplies to Dunnes branches following the decision of the retailer to stop honouring standard terms and conditions relating to payment for newspapers which The Irish Times applies to all newsagents. The biggest Irish-owned retailer has reverted to "the cheque is in the post" system, which enables it to stretch credit through delaying payment.

It's an old Irish practice for big purchasers to ignore agreed credit terms and delay payment through various ruses: "the cheque is in the post" is a shop-worn staple as is the "missing" invoice. SMEs in particular have to grin and bear it although legislation in recent years has given suppliers a right to charge interest. That wouldn't encourage repeat business of course and the likes of IBEC, a representative of big firms, would not be in a rush to bite the hand, that feeds it, even though the merry-go-round of chasing payment, is a huge cost to business. It has been easier to rail against the cost of public regulations or the like.

Kerry Group Plc used to have a policy of only making essential payment in December - -  the last month of its financial year.

The Irish Times says an information notice in today’s editions features a county-by-county list of Dunnes Stores outlets and of alternative newsagents. These shops are stocking additional copies of The Irish Times to ensure full availability for readers.

In a letter to Dunnes Stores director Margaret Heffernan yesterday, The Irish Times said Dunnes had cancelled its weekly direct debit payment on February 6th, 2009. It pointed out no notification was received by the newspaper prior to the cancellation of the payment.

In a responding letter, Dunnes Stores said it was now its company policy to pay daily newspapers by cheque monthly. The letter confirmed payments by direct debit would no longer be made. No further comment was available from Dunnes Stores yesterday.

It's not clear how long a period of unauthorised credit Dunnes Stores plan to take by cancelling direct debit payments.