Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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93. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to detail the instances in which software or IT systems procured by his Department or agencies were later deemed unfit for purpose; and the costs of replacement or remediation. [54395/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Department's ICT projects are managed and delivered under its Digital Transformation Strategy. There is only one instance where a software or IT system procured by the Department was deemed unfit for purpose.

A decision was made in 2023 that the contract for a new Passport Integrated and Processing System should be concluded due to the contract terms not being met. The project is now being delivered under an alternate contract.

The Passport Integrated and Processing System (PIPS) was to replace the old back office, passport operating system. This system which is called APS (Automated Passport System) was developed more than 20 years ago and is at end of life. This system facilitates the workflow around the processing of approx. 1 million passport applications annually. Following an EU procurement process the contract was signed in September 2021 and the contractor was appointed to develop this new back office operating system, called PIPS. The sum of €218,230, was paid to the contractor on 9 December 2021 on successful completion of the first milestone in accordance with the terms of the contract. As milestone payments to the contractor were conditional upon achievement of milestones no further milestone payments were made. In line with advice from CSSO the contract was terminated in September 2023, and for accounting purposes, as previously published and as reflected in the 2023 vote 28 appropriation account, the sum of €218,230 was written off, in accordance with accounting principles. No termination payments were made by the Department to the contractor on foot of the mutually agreed early termination of the contract.

Conscious of the need to replace the old APS system the Department has identified and appointed a contractor to design and implement a new system. This work is progressing well with phase 1 scheduled to roll out before the end of this year and implementation to be completed on a phased basis.