Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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346. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the role played by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer in relation to the project to develop an ICT system at the Arts Council outlining in detail each time they were made aware of an increase in budget and the actions they took to inform others within his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7574/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department, by virtue of the oversight role of the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO), was first approached by the Arts Council regarding their ICT project in 2019. This was standard procedure as set out in Circular 2/2016 (which has since been superseded by Circular 14/2021: Arrangements for Oversight of Digital and ICT-related Initiatives in the Civil and Public Service). Approval, with associated conditions, for the project was given in July 2019 and there followed some related technical engagements in 2020.

OGCIO was next approached in December 2023 and was made aware of some difficulties with the project. After follow-up meetings it was agreed that OGCIO would arrange for an independent assessment of the project, which was completed in Q1 2024. The Government CIO was then invited to a meeting of the Board of the Arts Council in June of 2024 during which options for a way forward were discussed, and a preferred option chosen for further analysis by the Arts Council and their parent department. The focus of the OGCIO throughout was on the technical issues with the project and not on the budgetary implications, which was a matter for the Arts Council and its parent department.

My Department became aware of the extent of the financial loss when the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport, and Media brought a Memorandum to Government last week.