Committee hears of problems with another computer system

The Oireachtas public accounts committee has heard details of problems with another computer system introduced by the Government in recent years.

The committee heard today how the Department of Justice was forced to abandon a human resources system for the prison system.

Sean Aylward, the department's general secretary, said the HRMS system was not appropriate for prison management.

More than half a million euros was spent on the system before a decision to abandon it was made last December.

This is considerably less than the €116m that has been spent on the PPARS system in the health service, which is set to be suspended today pending a review of its quality and value for money.