PPARS became ‘money pit’

THE PPARS computer payroll system for the health sector turned into a money pit that soaked up ever-increasing quantities of cash while making very limited progress, the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) found.

Full implementation of the system throughout the entire health sector would cost at least €240 million, or an incredible 29 times the original costing, health chiefs calculated last year.

The latest estimate currently under consideration is for a reduced sum of €195m, but this would only allow for a scaled-down version that would exclude health workers employed in voluntary agencies.