The chief financial officer of CIE, Mr Jim Cullen, said it was he who had recommended in July 1999 that a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) analysis of the mini-CTC contract should cease. But there was a "consensus" to that effect, he said.
Mr Cullen said PwC had sent an initial document on the mini-CTC project to CIE's solicitors in March 1999. The document had been sought from PwC as CIE was then contemplating litigation in relation to the project.
PwC was asked to continue its investigation, and its findings were circulated to managers in CIE and Iarnrod Eireann.
He received a draft report from PwC in July 1999. He looked at this, discussed it with others, including PwC, and there was a consensus that there would be no benefit from a further investigation by PwC.
Mr Pat Rabbitte put it to Mr Cullen that he had told the joint committee at an earlier hearing that the PwC report was a final report.
Mr Rabbitte said the committee had thought there was only a 12-page PwC summary report in existence.
Mr Cullen said the PwC report of July 10th was effectively to be the final report. He corrected an earlier statement that he had discussed it with the CIE chairman and said he had spoken about it to the late Mr Michael McDonnell. He said the original PwC report was not given to the CIE board.
Mr Rabbitte asked how an expurgated report could have been presented to the board as a final report when it was only a partial report which did not deal with the "Esat connection".
Mr Cullen said that the March PwC report contained differences between PwC and Iarnrod Eireann and it was felt that it would have been inappropriate to circulate it.
The PwC investigation had not been stalled and there had been "agreement between ourselves and PwC" on the matter.
Pressed further, Mr Cullen agreed it was he who had recommended in July 1999 that the PwC investigation cease.
Dealing with a suggestion in the PwC report that the £14 million estimate for the mini-CTC project was never realistic and that there was an element of "shoehorning" of the project to fit that figure, Mr Cullen said he had not personally taken a view that the mini-CTC project should be "shoehorned".
He could not find anyone in CIE or Iarnrod Eireann to agree with that PwC view.
Mr Cullen said he had not been aware of the extent of the overrun in the cost of the project until 1999.
