Senior officials tried to stop spending

SENIOR officials in the Department of Finance attempted unsuccessfully last June to halt the out of control spending on the maladroit €150 million Personnel, Payroll and Related Systems (PPARS).

In a letter sent by one of the principal civil servants in Finance to his opposite number in Health, in the wake of a June 1 meeting between both departments, it was stated: “It is unclear how the costs were, and continue to be, apportioned as between current and capital pending and that current items were being treated as capital. This must stop.”

The meeting was attended by senior civil servants from both departments who were told that the 1999 to 2004 costs had totalled €100.6 million. By the end of this year the system will carry a price tag of €150m.