€23m fingerprint system underused because of dispute

A STATE-OF-THE-ART Garda fingerprint system, which ran over €3 million over budget, is not being fully used because many gardaí still take manual prints and because civil servants refuse to use it.

The Automated Fingerprint Integrated System (AFIS), which cost just over €23m to install, came in 18 months late because of delays in introducing legislation and in upgrading the Garda PULSE computer system.

The C&AG 2010 report found that:

* About one third of fingerprints were still being taken manually by gardaí, using the “wet ink” system.

* Scanning machines at the main office of the Garda National Immigration Bureau have been unused for two years due to a dispute by civil servants.

* Delays of over two years in passing legislation prevented the use of mobile AFIS equipment.

The aim of AFIS was to introduce modern technology to help gardaí and immigration authorities validate identities of non-Europeans and asylum seekers as well as tackle abuses of the refugee, work visa and welfare systems.

The system was to replace taking “wet ink” fingerprints with an electronic system, using biometric data.

The C&AG said gardaí began a procurement process for AFIS in 2004, but did not complete a business case until 2006.

The report said the business case “apparently served to justify a decision that had already been made”.

It estimated the cost of AFIS at €18m, but the report said a proper project budget was “not formulated”.

The report said the winning bidder, Accenture, gave a total cost “considerably [34%] more expensive” than another bidder. But it said the evaluation team said its security and administrative case was weaker and Accenture “represented the best value for money”.

The report said gardaí accepted 11 cost-change control notices with Accenture, worth an additional €2m, bringing the total to close to €20m.

This included a pilot biometrics project, costing €1.3m, for visa applications from Nigeria.

The report said gardaí appointed BearingPoint Ireland as technical consultants in September 2004.

It said the initial contract was worth €150,000, but that gardaí ended paying €210,000. Gardaí were “unable to provide any documentation” on this.

A subsequent contract was valued at €3.1m, but gardaí paid €3.3m.

On the success of the project, the report said: “It appears the project has substantially delivered the anticipate benefits.” It said a “tangible” measure of this was the 94% improvement in the “hit rate” for fingerprint matches.

But it said a “significant number” of fingerprints — almost 33% of all prints in June 2011 — were still being taken manually.