Arts Council €6.7m discarded IT Project to be reviewed externally

Newly appointed Arts Minister Patrick O'Donovan has ordered an external review of governance and culture at the Arts Council, after a report put a cost of €6.675m on an initiative to develop a new IT system that was later scrapped.

According to the report, the Comptroller and Auditor general approved spending €5.3m to develop the IT system, which was intended to help process funding applications and grants. However, no benefit has accrued from the large-scale investment, which escalated by a further €1.375m.

The Minister expressed his "deep concern" about what he called the "governance failures" that allowed this expenditure to mount. He also referred to the "significant" public monies received by the Arts Council, whose funding has increased to €140m for 2025.

The report confirming the €6.675m expenditure was brought to cabinet by O'Donovan on Wednesday morning, when Ministers were told there was "serious trouble brewing" over the operations at the council.

According to news accounts today, the Arts Council's Annual Report for 2023 – in which the losses incurred as a result of the failed IT system were logged – was originally given to former arts minister Catherine Martin. She ordered a complete review into the project, and the related expenditure, to be conducted by the Department of Arts, Culture, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

The Departmental report stated that the Arts Council “was not prepared for the scale of the project and did not put in place adequate resources to deliver it."

There were criticisms too of the Department.

"The examination also found that the oversight, monitoring and reporting arrangements by the Department over the lifespan of the project were inadequate,” O'Donovan added.

The Arts Council released a statement, confirming they "requested sanction to develop new IT systems" in 2018, as the "ageing online systems were presenting challenges and required improvement."

The Council went on to say that it "acknowledges the significant expenditure on this project and the associated write-off of this expenditure of €5.3m. We greatly regret that this ambitious and complex project was not completed," they added.

Maura McGrath, chair of the Arts Council, said she was "deeply concerned at the non-delivery of this project and the costs incurred. I have assured Minister O'Donovan that whatever measures and reforms are required will be rigorously pursued by me, the Arts Council Board and the executive," she added.

The political fall-out has been swift, with the Minister telling RTÉ News that he is "really, really annoyed" at the losses.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has described the issue as "very serious." Significant concerns have also been raised by Tánaiste Simon Harris, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe, and Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers.

According to the Irish Independent, the failed IT system had been discontinued in June 2024, and it is understood the Department of Arts, Culture, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media was aware of the loss of money.

It is also reported Roderic O’Gorman, leader of the Green Party since last July, stated that he was not aware of any issues at the Arts Council regarding this matter.

The blame game is also underway.

Rightly or wrongly, Fine Gael have attempted to place the blame on the former Arts Minister Catherine Martin, contending that the 2023 annual report was submitted to her department last July but is only emerging now.

The investigation announced by O'Donovan follows RTÉ's 2023 independent review, following the revelation that presenter Ryan Tubridy had received hundreds of thousands of euro in undeclared payments from the State broadcaster.

Most people are expecting that the Public Accounts Committee will insist on conducting its own enquiry. There is, as one wag suggested, more grandstanding to be done.