Minister: It's unlikely Arts Council will recoup €7m it spent on defunct IT

Patrick O’Donovan said of the Arts Council's current IT system: 'It might not be great, it might be cumbersome and clunky, but it is working'

Arts minister Patrick O’Donovan said he should not be required to micromanage agencies under his department’s remit. Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews

It is critical that confidence is restored in the Arts Council after €7m spent on an unfit-for-purpose IT system — but it is unlikely that the sum will be recouped, arts minister Patrick O’Donovan has said.

Mr O’Donovan described the incident as a “big systems failure”.

“Of the €7m spent on this, to be honest about it for the benefit of the House, I do not think any of it can be recovered, and I am being very honest,” Mr O’Donovan said.

An external review of all activities at the Arts Council is currently underway after it came to light that the project, which had an initial cost of €3m and spiralled to more than double the original cost, was eventually axed in 2024 having been deemed not fit for purpose.

Mr O’Donovan said that he should not be required to micromanage agencies under his department’s remit.

However, the minister did not rule out any restructuring. He said: 

If it comes to a situation where we have to restructure, reorganise, and micromanage for short periods of time, it is something we cannot rule out.

Mr O’Donovan said that he would not be in favour of any further investments in IT at the Arts Council until “I am assured those who are getting the investment know what they are doing”.

It was confirmed by Mr O’Donovan that the existing IT system used by the Arts Council is working.

“It might not be great, it might be cumbersome and clunky, but it is working,” he said.

He added that there were questions to be asked of the Government’s Chief Information Officer as to how departments and agencies carry out IT projects.

Mr O’Donovan questioned if they should be done centrally by the Chief Information Officer’s office, or by agency staff.

The minister brought the external review team to Cabinet in recent weeks, with the committee due to be made up of three experts including Niamh Brennan, who is a Professor of management at University College Dublin.

The terms of reference for the review state that it will consider whether the existing corporate governance framework for the Arts Council “reflects best governance practice for State bodies”.