Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms Feehily for coming in. I must also apologise as I must leave to go to the Chamber soon.

I wish first to deal with the Policing Authority's oversight of ICT within An Garda Síochána. In her opening statement, Ms Feehily stated that she does not receive Garda audit service reports on a routine basis but that she is aware of media reports on this particular audit. This audit concerned ICT payments and processes in An Garda Síochána. I raised this during Leaders' Questions in January. I will not go over the whole thing again but to give an idea of the figures involved, ICT costs in An Garda Síochána for 2016 were €49.9 million, of which €26.6 million went to Accenture, based on a contract dated August 2009 which the audit found breached public procurement guidelines.

I have been looking at the Policing Authority's most recent quarterly report to the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, in December 2017 on progress by An Garda Síochána in implementing the recommendations of the Garda Inspectorate report, particularly on ICT which has a full chapter. On external ICT contractors, the Policing Authority's report states that "It is clear that the financial burden of supporting external contractors is high" and that "contractors have a strong financial incentive to remain".

These statements by the authority seem to indicate that it is aware that there is a high price connected with external contractors. Did the authority ask for the details of the expenditure associated with external IT contractors? The phrase "financial burden" in particular seems to indicate that the authority is aware that there is a high spend in the area of external contractors. The authority states that it is aware of media reports about the audit. I am asking if how ICT functions in An Garda Síochána is news to the Policing Authority. The authority seems at least to be aware of a high spend on contractors. Was the Policing Authority aware of any of the public procurement breaches by An Garda Síochána. The 2016 appropriation accounts list 94 breaches totalling €27.8 million and it lists security ICT as one of the main areas. That information is available to everyone online. Will Ms Feehily answer those questions first?