Sucking IT up - the black hole of Coalition failures
Why? According to Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, there’s “a black hole” in Government Buildings and it seems to be swallowing every major IT project that the Coalition dreams up - e-voting, PPARS and now, the National Health Services Portal. More of which anon.
Following all of those into the black hole is the taxpayers’ hard-earned money used to pay for them. Yet, not everything related to the projects is disappearing. For instance, the various speeches ministers gave touting these wonderful systems are inevitably archived on the internet and coming back to haunt them.
Last week, Labour leader Pat Rabbitte recalled how Junior Minister Tim O’Malley had said of PPARS precisely one year ago: “The meticulous attention to detail which was paid during the development and implementation of PPARS in the early phases of the project will pay dividends as the system is rolled out throughout the health services.”
Hearty laughter all round.
Yesterday, Enda was the one digging up the old quotes, and it was a speech from Enterprise Minister Micheál Martin he zeroed in on.
Micheál had been Health Minister when the National Health Services Portal was launched in May 2004, when he said: “The development of the health portal is a shining example of the changing approach to delivering health services to our citizens which is evolving as a result of the major reform programme which I am currently leading.”
Er, not quite, as Enda revealed to the Dáil. The €3m internet site was meant to act as a one-stop shop for information on the health services. Micheál did launch it, all right, but sadly, it got sucked into the black hole, too. “It isn’t there, it has disappeared, it is an ex-portal,” Enda declared to instant sniggers.
But the Government is planning a replacement. But, hey, at least it will be cheaper. What’s more, the Departments of Finance and Health will ensure the HSE spent wisely on this one, she said.
Funny thing is, Government assurances have a curious habit of finding the nearest black hole, too...
