Consultant’s report predicted system would save health service millions of euro

A CONSULTANT’S report on the jettisoned Payroll, Personnel and Related Services (PPARS) system in 2002 said it had the potential to save the health services tens of millions of euro in tackling absenteeism, retention and productivity.

The report, in February 2002, by Hay Management Consultants, was the first to radically revise the costs associated with PPARS.

The original estimate when it was introduced in 1999 was €8.8 million.

However, by early 2002, the project had already cost €17m and Hay estimated that a further €90m-€95m needed to be spent over the following four years towards full national roll-out.

Hay said that a business case for a national human resources (HR) management system like PPARS was clear.

“People costs account for the single biggest cost in the health sector,” wrote the consultancy.

“Investment in IT to manage this cost effectively and also to facilitate the development and retention of people working in the sector are a clear strategic priority.”

It said the system would lead to reductions in absenteeism because it would significantly “raise the game in terms of how HR services are delivered and how people are managed.” It continued: “Savings based on even slightly improved levels of absenteeism, retention and productivity alone will run into tens of million euro in the short to medium term.”

According to Hay, the original estimate of €8.8m was no longer appropriate. “Cleary, these time and cost estimates were too ambitious given the significant restructuring of the contract and the scale of the implementation effort...

“The simple but inspiring vision of one entry per employee generating a suite of information assumed a level of standardisation within and between agencies which did not in fact exist.” As events have transpired, the lack of standardisation in contracts and work arrangements across the former 11 health boards and the country’s hospitals has been one of the main reasons for the huge difficulties that have beset the process.

Tánaiste Mary Harney spoke of incoherence, with local agreements in place in some areas. She cited the fact that some areas allow employees to treat Holy Days of Obligation as a bank holiday.

One source within health also said that there has been huge resistance within the health services to PPARS, because it jeopardised “cosy local arrangements.”