Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 26 April 2018

Public Accounts Committee

2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 13 - Development of ICT Systems by the Department of Justice and Equality
Vote 24: Justice and Equality

9:00 am

Photo of Jonathan O'BrienJonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I apologise for being late. I had another engagement. I do not know exactly what Deputy Kelly has gone through. I will focus on some of the ICT projects and the recommendations from the Comptroller and Auditor General.

The Accounting Officer has said that only in very urgent and exceptional circumstances will a project be initiated without a detailed budgetary planning where the priority of the system is deemed critical, as was the case in the Insolvency Service of Ireland. Could Ms McPhillips outline what the specific features of the modified project approval and tracking systems are? What shortcomings noted in the Comptroller and Auditor General's report do they address? Can she confirm that his recommendations in this area have been fully implemented? What criteria have been put in place to determine what constitutes a very urgent and exceptional circumstance, where the priority of the system is deemed critical? Will she also outline who, in the cases of these procedures, actually makes that assessment? Who is the person responsible for making the assessment that this is a very urgent and exceptional circumstance? Does the ICT governance group have a role in that? Could Ms McPhillips give us, if she has it, a list of the membership, the roles and the terms of reference of the ICT governance group for starters?