IT system overspends by public bodies is a systemic failure – Boland

Recurring multimillion euro overruns in public IT projects reflect a serious and systemic governance breakdown across State bodies, a Fine Gael TD has said.

Deputy Grace Boland’s comments come after a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC),which heard new disclosures about major cost escalations in both the National Train Control Centre and the SUSI student grant system.

During last week’s meeting of PAC, it was confirmed the City of Dublin ETB has spent €6.4m on a SUSI IT system, nearly triple its original budget of €2.2m, yet it remains stuck in a pre-project phase, which Deputy Boland has described as “outrageous”.

Deputy Boland said: “These failures mirror the issues I raised on Thursday regarding the National Train Control Centre, where costs have surged by roughly €40m, rising from €148m to almost €190m due to delays in delivering the train management system.

“These budget overruns are not confined to one department or one agency. It is a clear pattern versight is weak, governance is inconsistent and contract enforcement is plainly ineffective. This is not just a rare once off occurrence. Continually ‘re-baselining’ timelines for major technology projects is not a substitute for accountability.”

Deputy Boland also highlighted the real-world impact of the overruns, saying: “€40m is not an abstract number, it is the equivalent of 80 new Dublin buses. Taxpayers are entitled to transparency and genuine value for money.”

She concluded by saying PAC will continue to press for answers to ensure that future IT projects are delivered on time, on budget and in the public interest.