Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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46. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the bodies included in the second phase of the implementation of the Financial Management Shared Services Project; the number that will have migrated to the new system by the end of the second quarter of 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23364/23]

Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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47. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform how many and which bodies are scheduled to take part in the third phase of the Financial Management Shared Services Project; the number of the original 50 identified bodies that will remain for further phases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23365/23]

Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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48. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the completed expenditure on the Financial Management Shared Services Project currently; the projected expenditure for 2023/2024; the current estimated cost of the project on completion by the NSSO of the project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23366/23]

Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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49. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the current projected completion date for the Financial Management Shared Services Project by the NSSO; if the number of bodies that have migrated to the new system is up to date with the agreed project timeline from the project's commencement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23367/23]

Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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50. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will outline any further procurement or tendering required for the completion of the Financial Management Shared Services Project by the NSSO; if any further procurement of tender packages sit outside the original business case accepted by his Department; the estimated cost of further packages beyond the original €115 million estimate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23368/23]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 46, 47, 48, 49 and 50 together.

I am advised by the NSSO that Wave 2 of the Financial Management Shared Services Programme will see a further 15 central Government Departments and Offices (in-scope client organisations) migrate their finance and accounting functions to the NSSO. This will bring the overall total number of client organisations to 23, which is almost 50% of the total scope of Departments and Offices of Government. The Wave 2 group are primarily the clients of the existing Department of Justice Shared Services Centre in Killarney, together with the Department of Transport. The migration timeline for Wave 2 organisations has moved to the latter part of 2024 or as soon as possible thereafter. The programme mobilisation and engagement with organisations in Wave 2 has already commenced.

Wave 3 will consist of approximately 16 clients after which up to 8 Departments and Offices of Government will remain to be on boarded. This is subject to change as the number of Departments and Offices of Government can change over time. E.g. Tailte Eireann. At full deployment some 50 clients will have migrated their finance and accounting functions to the NSSO.

The indicative capital envelope for this Programme is €115 million and some €73 million has been expended to date.  As 80% of the technical design and system build has already been completed, the bulk of development and therefore cost incurred to date is frontloaded to the early phase of the programme. The revised estimate for 2023 provides for a further €16.4 million of expenditure including €1.2 million of Capital Carryover from 2023. The 2024 allocation will be discussed in the context of the 2024 Budget Estimates. While the final costs will not be known until the completion of the project, just as with all programmes of this scale, every effort is being made by the NSSO to control programme costs. Some future costs are dependent on the requirements of Government Departments and Offices who may need customisations so that they can continue to deliver their public goods effectively.  It is vital that the system meets the varied requirements of the Civil Service.

Based on the expected timeline for the upgrade it is likely that Wave 2 will be fully deployed in the latter part of 2024 or as soon as possible thereafter.  The NSSO’s expectation is that initial engagement and design for Waves 3 and 4 can commence in parallel with the end stage of deployment of Wave 2. The timeline for those waves is being examined as part of a planning exercise that is underway.

Given the complexity of the project, further procurement may arise. For example, the agreement with the current System Implementer will expire in 2024. The NSSO will likely return to market shortly on this. The business case had made provision for system implementation costs. Provision for this will be revalidated following the conclusion of a tendering process.