Ahern blamed for €35m research venture fiasco

THE Government wasted over €35 million of taxpayers’ money on a botched research venture, a Dáil committee has found.

The money simply “went down the tubes” because the Government’s handling of the project was so poor, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said. The PAC, which scrutinises State spending, said the Government had invested €35.5m in Media Lab Europe (MLE), yet had little control over the venture.

PAC chairman Fine Gael’s Michael Noonan said Taoiseach Bertie Ahern had to bear personal responsibility for the waste as his department had given the project the green light. Media Lab was a joint initiative between the Government and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Founded in May 2000, it was meant to be “a centre of excellence in digital technologies”, but folded in January 2005.

By then, the Government had given Media Lab €24.9m and MIT €10.6m. It had also provided Media Lab with a rent-free building for the five-year period.

In its damning report, the cross-party PAC found:

The Government failed to put structures in place to provide for “meaningful State influence” in Media Lab affairs, despite the public money involved.

The appointed liaison committee “was not effective” as a communication channel between Government, Media Lab and MIT.

Media Lab was “not subject to the normal code of corporate governance” for State-sponsored bodies.

Staff and board remuneration appeared “high” despite little evidence of adequate productivity.

The board of Media Lab “did not respond adequately” to the failure to meet business targets.

There was “very little interest” in applications for patents resulting from Media Lab research.