Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The new set of controls on which the Government decided will ensure that major IT projects in all areas are managed to best practice and standards. It will look back on projects. A new cross-departmental peer review is being introduced with immediate effect to cover existing and new major projects. Anything that is ongoing, therefore, will be examined, including the projects mentioned by the Deputy.

The new system will comprise senior personnel with a track record of successful management of projects, both IT and otherwise, and will be delivered on time and within budget. It is a cross-departmental agency and will bring the best of public service expertise to bear in all agencies and will be supplemented, where necessary, by external expertise from the private sector and internationally.

I wish to clarify the point made by Deputy Kenny this morning and by Deputy Rabbitte. I merely wish to clarify it; I am not taking issue with the point, which concerns consultants watching consultants. It will most likely not be done by consultants. If we are engaged in some major project we could bring in somebody with expertise from the private sector or banking to sit in on the review and give his best advice, as we do in many sectors. It is not a question of a paid consultant coming in to do another consultancy; it would be a group sitting down with somebody with professional expertise who has done this in the private sector. That works very well for us in many ways.

From now on the review will apply at various stages of contracts over the full life cycles of the projects, commencing with an initial approach being proposed, and the persons conducting the review will be independent of the project teams.

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