Ms Hilary Murphy-Fagan:

Again, it is not as simple as that. When the original tender went to market, it detailed a large list of requirements that would be sought from the technology solution, but what was not completed at that stage was the design of how meeting those requirements would be implemented. When the solution-implementing partner joined, there was some discussion around the design and a difference of views on same. This was a fixed-price, fixed-time and fixed-goal contract. It was difficult to lock down the design at that stage, but it was not a case of one versus the other.

There were also additional issues arising in relation to the design decision-making. There was no single authority available to make the decision in relation to the design. The governance structure was there. It was advisory in nature and so it allowed things to fester rather than actually close out and get locked down.