2026-07-07

10. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if he will outline the advice and support provided by his Department to other Departments or bodies under their aegis regarding the procurement of IT systems. [51486/26]

My Department has responsibility for public procurement policy development, guidance, systems and advisory services, as well as the establishment of central buying solutions that serve the needs of public service bodies, PSBs. My Department provides a wide range of supports to assist public service bodies in the procurement of information and communications technology systems and services, both through practical procurement assistance and the provision of guidance and central procurement solutions. The public procurement guidelines for goods and services, published by my Department, are designed to promote best practice and consistency in the application of public procurement rules in relation to the purchase of goods, services and works, including ICT goods and services. In addition to these general guidelines, my Department has also developed ICT-specific supports, including comprehensive guidance on the procurement of cloud services and recent guidance on measures that PSBs may take to mitigate potential cost and supply impacts arising from the global, AI-driven shortage of critical memory and storage IT components. PSBs can access a broad range of ICT expertise through my Department’s central procurement solutions, including ICT research and advisory services, ICT consultancy services, procurement consultancy services and ICT professional services. PSBs can also access central procurement solutions for common ICT products and services, ranging from communications and networking solutions to data centre equipment, personal computers and a number of software licensing renewal arrangements. A number of public sector bodies undertaking procurement of ICT systems have also been provided by my Department with guidance, documentation and advice at key stages of the procurement life cycle.

Government IT projects have become synonymous with overspends, not best practice, as far as I can see. Of 220 such projects since 2024, 67 have projected overspends or have had overspends. The Department contains various units in agencies that sanction projects or provide advice on the activities of Departments and State bodies. I am thinking of the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, OGCIO, the Office of Government Procurement, the National Shared Services Office and the advisory services that the Minister of State mentioned. Yet, somehow, when it comes to IT projects, time and again, there are gross overspends and even project write-offs. Does the Minister of State accept there is a problem and that his Department has a role to play in addressing this? What is he going to do about it?

My Department provides broad governance, oversight and strategic supports for digital and ICT initiatives. The arrangements for the oversight of digital and ICT-related initiatives in the civil and public service require PSBs to obtain approval from my Department before commencing new digital or ICT initiatives, publishing procurement documentation or entering into commitments involving expenditure. These arrangements promote early engagement, support whole-of-government co-ordination and help to avoid duplication of investment. My Department also delivers a range of shared digital and ICT services for use across government, including government networks, the national low latency platform, a managed desktop and a government private cloud. There is a lot of good work going on. I thank the Deputy for her questions.

I do not know how the Minister of State can say there is early engagement when a €4.3 million Fórsa project was abandoned, an unaffordable affordable childcare ICT system exceeded its original estimate of €3.5 million by nearly 50%, and now, €30 million spent by Irish Rail has effectively been written off. These are just examples of the tens of millions of euro in taxpayers’ money that is as good as gone. I am not seeking to absolve the Accounting Officers of the responsibility but it is clearly widespread across Departments. It is a big problem. In the context of the Arts Council, some €5.3 million was written off. We saw a State body report its concerns. It tried to seek assistance from the Department but never got it and in return, the Department allowed it to flounder and did not give the help it was seeking. We found this out at the Committee of Public Accounts. There is a multimillion euro public expenditure crisis due to the lack of competence. More needs to be done. I ask the Minister of State to ensure the necessary reforms are introduced to end the unnecessary waste.

I take the Deputy’s valid concerns on board. While my Department provides extensive guidance, oversight and procurement supports, individual PSBs ultimately retain responsibility for determining the suitability of their requirements, governance arrangements, project delivery approaches and the successful implementation of ICT projects under their remit. There is support for the Public Appointments Service and for digital and ICT initiatives of significant scale, risk or strategic importance, including all projects with an estimated lifetime cost exceeding €5 million. The OGCIO operates a formal peer review process, which assesses governance, delivery approach, cost risks and alignment with wider public service strategies, and provides an independent challenge to ensure robust decision-making and, more importantly, value for money.