Former minister for arts Catherine Martin was aware last summer of the Arts Council IT project that was abandoned at a loss of about €5.3 million, official documents suggest.
The annual report of the Arts Council, containing comments by the Comptroller and Auditor General on the cost of shelving the IT system, was formally given to the Department of Arts on July 25th last year.
Around this time, separate briefing notes were prepared for the then minister in case she was asked about the IT controversy at a press conference and for a pre-budget meeting with senior figures in the Arts Council.
Terms of reference for an internal examination of the issues surrounding the Arts Council IT system were also sent to Martin.
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However, while the annual accounts were furnished to the Department of Arts, these were not brought to government or published at the time. The department was awaiting responses from the Arts Council as part of its internal examination.
Oireachtas committees, comprising TDs and senators, are expected to shortly begin inquiries into the controversy and to raise questions about the delay in publishing the annual report. The Opposition is expected to contend publication was delayed in advance of the general election.
Details of the €5.3 million loss on the Arts Council IT project only emerged nearly seven months after the report was furnished to the department.
The matter became public after new Minister for Arts Patrick O’Donovan informed Cabinet about it last February. He had been told of the issue by his officials shortly after he was appointed.
Current Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris have said they had not been made aware of the problem previously.
Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers told the Cabinet in a confidential memo last February that the whole episode represented “a large waste of money”.
On being told of the issue, O’Donovan sought a meeting with the Arts Council. In advance, he asked officials for a briefing note “in bullet point, font size 18”.
This note said the scale of the financial loss “gives rise to significant questions regarding the Arts Council’s oversight and project governance”.
At noon on February 4th, the Minister met Arts Council chair Maura McGrath and director Maureen Kennelly.
Official minutes state the Minister emphasised the importance of ensuring accountability and strong corporate governance.
“The Minister inquired of both the chair and director whether either they (or their predecessors) had discussed the BTP [Business Transformation Programme] subsequent to its commencement with the previous Minister or secretary general to which both replied ‘No’.
“The Minister expressed his deep concern and dissatisfaction that this matter had not been brought directly to the attention of the then Minister or secretary general by the chair or director of the Arts Council,” the minutes say.
In a memo to Cabinet in February, O’Donovan said the BTP had aimed to bring together five different systems into a single arrangement for dealing with grant applications and payments.
Initially, the project had a time frame of 2½ years with a budget of just under €3 million.
The project “relied heavily on external contractors due to its complexity” and a lack of appropriate information and communication technology expertise in the Arts Council, the memo said. The transformation programme encountered “significant difficulties in the development and delivery of the system”, while shifting priorities during the pandemic also contributed, the memo said.
“The project absorbed significant resources with an ultimate cost of €6.675 million (€200,342 of which is withheld) for delivery,” it added.
Documentation released by the Department of Arts shows it formally received the 2023 Arts Council report and accounts, including the comptroller’s comments, on July 25th, 2024.
An internal email trail shows terms of reference for the department’s internal examination were sent to the minister for her information at 5.45pm on July 24th.
The department had also prepared speaking notes, in a question and answer format, for the minister in case she was asked about the Arts Council IT project at a press conference that day.
The speaking notes prepared for Martin state: “I understand that the project is taking longer and is costing more than originally planned and has experienced difficulties in terms of some of the key deliverables.
“I have asked my officials to examine the course of the project to date and to provide me with detailed information on its progress, the issues that have arisen and their implications.”
The speaking notes prepared for Martin also said that her department had “obtained periodic updates” on the project.
Earlier, on July 16th, the department prepared speaking notes for a pre-budget meeting of the Arts Council. Martin is named on the list of those attending the meeting.
The department speaking notes state: “I would like to address the business transformation project. I understand the Arts Council accounts for 2023 note that the ‘overall loss of value in respect of the project to June 2024 is estimated at €5.3 million’. I understand also that the secretary general has asked for a full examination of the circumstances behind this loss. This work has already commenced and I welcome the continued co-operation of the Arts Council in this review.”
On September 23rd, the department told the Dáil Public Accounts Committee that the Arts Council report would be “unavoidably delayed”.
On December 17th, the department told a meeting with the Arts Council that it had received responses to questions it had raised. It said the annual report had not gone to government and was “unlikely to do so now in advance of the formation of the new Government”.
O’Donovan told the Dáil on March 6th that while there were “flows of information” to the department, no progress report was issued to the then minister or the secretary general in respect of this project before the summer of 2024.
In February, the Government commissioned an external review of the governance and organisational culture in the Arts Council.
The Institute of Public Administration is to lead a parallel review into the Department of Arts.
