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Oireachtas committee to see Arts Council chief's emails warning about botched €6.6m IT system
The head of the Arts Council alerted department officials to concerns over a botched IT system as far back as 2021, a raft of emails show.
Almost 60 pieces of correspondence have been handed over to members of the Oireachtas arts committee which show that the outgoing director of the Arts Council Maureen Kennelly had sought "urgent" meetings with senior department officials and repeatedly raised the need for resources to address cost and time overruns.
As far back as July 2021, 'variations arising on the project' were highlighted in relation to the €6.6m system which was ultimately abandoned, one document reveals.
The committee recently heard that a senior civil servant did not act on serious concerns around the Arts Council's failed project, which Ms Kennelly described as 'very disappointing and frustrating'.
The documents, seen by the Irish Examiner, show that updates on the ICT [information and communications technology] project were provided at various meetings across 2022.
In November 2022, correspondence showed that the department was informed that the system was due to go live in late 2023, but 'there are cost overruns which are being monitored carefully'.
Ms Kennelly also stressed that recruitment of roles associated with the project were a 'critical priority' for 'the timely and cost-efficient delivery of the new system, the roles referred to above are a critical priority'.
In December 2023, Ms Kennelly sent an email 'about the Arts Council's urgent requirement to get a senior ICT resource into place'.
'As referenced at our liaison meeting on Monday last, we are at a critical junction with the business transformation project. To guarantee the delivery of current and future Arts Council strategy, a particular skillset of CIO is required,' she wrote, before expanding on the need to recruit staff 'to help us with the current challenges of the Business Transformation Programme'.
Another email sent in February 2024 requested an 'urgent meeting with the secretary general' and other senior civil servants on the project.
Issues with the abandoned IT project first came to light in February, with the plan originally expected to cost in the region of €3m for a bespoke grant application system.
However, the project ballooned in costs and eventually cost the State €6.6m before it was cancelled.
The council is still using its previous system, but has sought to purchase an off-the-shelf system, which would cost an initial €1.5m to install. There would then be an annual €241,000 subscription fee for the service. However, the Arts Council confirmed to the committee the bespoke system would cost €560,000 per year to operate.
Appearing before the committee on June 11, Ms Kennelly said it was 'very disappointing and frustrating' that correspondence, which raised concerns around the project, was not sent to more senior civil servants.
She said it seemed as if issues with the IT project were not being escalated up the chain of command and this had been a 'great surprise'.
