Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Sticking with the subject of the most recent quarterly report, the Garda Inspectorate recommended that the Garda Síochána establish an ICT governance board and this was done in 2016. Mr. Joseph Nugent, the chief administrative officer, is the chair and representatives from the Departments of Justice and Equality and Public Expenditure and Reform also sit on the board. The Policing Authority has attended three meetings of the board in an observer capacity. Who attended on behalf of the authority?

One of the roles of the ICT governance board, according to its terms of reference, is to ensure that decisions on the commencement of projects are informed by defined business cases, consistent with the requirements of the public spending code and circulars relating to ICT expenditure and consistent with agreed resource allocations. In the three meetings attended by the authority, were tendering or procurement issues or payments to external contractors discussed? Given that €26 million which was paid to Accenture in 2016 was deemed to be in breach of public procurement guidelines, it would seem the governance board is not really doing its job. What is the authority's opinion on the work of the governance board?

The minutes of the meeting of the Policing Authority with An Garda Síochána on 26 January 2017 state that the authority executive was to explore a link with the ICT governance board and ensure that the authority has access to all relevant information. Did this ever happen? Has the authority ever requested a full-time place on the board? It is strange that the Departments of Justice and Equality and Public Expenditure and Reform can sit on the board but that the authority can only observe.