Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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112. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer informed the then Minister of the review conducted on the Arts Council digital transformation programme in 2024 or of the issues raised by the Arts Council in 2023, if so when and if not why not; what issues were raised by the Arts Council with the officer in late 2023; and will he publish the review conducted by the Office. [8421/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO), was approached by the Arts Council regarding difficulties with an IT project in December 2023. In response to that approach, and follow-up discussions, OGCIO commissioned a technical review with the aim of informing the related deliberations of the Arts Council and its parent department. The substantive content of that technical review was included in the Department’s review, which has already been published.

One of the roles of the OGCIO is to provide advice and support on Public Service digitalisation to Departments and the Public Service, in line with its established remit. Such advice is primarily to inform the business of that organisation, who will brief the responsible Minister as appropriate. It would not routinely be brought to the attention of the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform. This is in line with agreed processes across government. In the case of the Arts Council, the focus of the OGCIO was solely 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.