HSE and Education IT systems rated Red by 'digital government' watchdog

Department of Public Expenditure document shows the HSE’s home-support and nursing-home support systems received a red assessment from an independent peer review group

A HSE spokesperson said the HSE Community Care Record 'single point of access' system has been rated Red due to its delayed go-live date. Stock picture: Alamy

Sun, 01 Nov, 2026 - 17:15

Paul Hosford

A number of major information technology projects across the public sector remain under heightened scrutiny after being rated 'red' by a Government oversight unit.

Officials require revised business cases, further reviews and direct engagement with senior management over concerns about project delivery.

Correspondence and project records contained in a Department of Public Expenditure document sent to the Dáil's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) show that the HSE’s home-support and nursing-home support systems received a red assessment from an independent peer review group in February 2025.

The department’s Digital Government Oversight Unit subsequently required a new request for specific approval and a revised business case under the Government’s rules for major digital projects.

Updated documentation was received in December last year, but the project was still recorded as red in the intervention table.

In another case, a €102m Department of Education system remains under "red" status under DPER's 'RAG' (red, amber, green) grading system with the Department saying that 40 jobs in its implementation remain unfilled.

HSE Community Care Record

The HSE said that one of the two, the HSE Community Care Record is developing a patient management system with clinical functionality across its community services.

A spokesperson said that the 'single point of access' service is the first service scheduled to go live in October 2026. This enables referrals for children’s services to come into one point, where they are currently dispersed across many services, "resulting sometimes in fragmentation for parents".

"The programme remains Red due to the delayed go-live date.

"This was initially driven by delays in build and readiness activities, but these were addressed. Subsequently, industrial action has paused the recent go-live date, and the programme had been seeking a derogation to continue implementation.

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"The HSE continues to work through the outstanding implementation dependencies to progress go-live as soon as the current Industrial Action dispute is resolved."

The estimated total contract value for that work is €85.6m, with expenditure to date of €11.4m. The HSE says that payments are "linked to agreed milestones and deliverables which the programme's Governance Steering Board approves".

HSE Home Support and Nursing Home Schemes System

On the Home Support and Nursing Home Schemes System, the HSE says it aims to implement a "single integrated solution that supports the needs of Home Support Services, the Nursing Homes Support Scheme (NHSS), and any future Statutory Home Support Scheme (SHSS)".

The solution will replace the existing Nursing Home Support System (NHSS), which has operated for almost 15 years.

The HSE cannot confirm a cost for the Home Support Schemes system until the procurement process is complete.

Department of Education payroll system

The Department of Education, meanwhile, said that its new payroll system needs 40 new staff and that it is engaging with DPER on the "prioritisation and filling of these vacancies".

"There are currently approximately 40 sanctioned and fully funded vacancies across the payroll and pensions functions within department that are required to support this project.

"The department continues to engage with DPER to on the prioritisation and filling of these vacancies. The project is to be delivered on a phased basis with the first phase being the implementation phase."

"The contract was signed in 2025 following a competitive open procurement and is for a 15-year duration with a total value of €102,720,000 (excl. Vat).

"The department is working closely with the vendor and is progressing work related to the implementation phase. The department is exploring options to reduce the impact of the resource constraints that have been encountered within the department."