MediaLab Europe - Costly hi-tech scheme an utter failure
It was a saga which can only be described as yet another glaring example of taxpayer’s money being squandered under the unseeing eyes of this Government.
Given the PPARS debacle, involving an unbelievable waste of money on the Health Board’s botched personnel and payroll system, a jaundiced public was equally appalled at the blatant lack of accountability and transparency surrounding the much-vaunted MLE venture launched in a fanfare of publicity by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in May 2000.
The mind boggling scale of the MLE abortion, into which the State poured €30 million, was highlighted in the recent annual report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG).
While the issue was revisited yesterday by the Dáil Public Accounts Committee, so far it has been frustrated in its efforts to turn the glare of the spotlight on this extraordinary business.
In principle the MLE concept was well-intentioned, the idea being to create a university-level research and education centre specialising in telecommunications, information and multimedia technologies, including the internet and digital commerce.
Arguably, if the ambitious project were properly managed it could have established an international scientific reputation for Ireland in this prestigious and potentially lucrative sector.
But despite contractual agreements involving the Government, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and MLE, it turned out to be an abysmal failure.
As we now know, the State poured millions into funding this disaster during its four-year lifetime before the venture was finally shut down.
Astonishingly, even though the directors of MLE were paid severance money, they have steadfastly refused to disclose to the Department of the Taoiseach - which had assumed overall management of the project - how much they received.
This is yet another glaring example of a Government project spiralling out of control due to appalling mismanagement by politicians and State officials.
Considering its MIT connections, the aim was that MLE would fast-track the build up of internet and digital media research and innovation.
But according to a consultant who, in stark contrast with the consultancy firm involved in the PPARS affair, appears to have given value for money, the scientific output of the laboratory was nothing short of dismal.
Despite its prestigious status, the company failed to attract over €7m sponsorship, a relatively poor performance by international standards. At best, its role in attracting high-quality foreign investment and skilled enterprise for Ireland was marginal. Nor were there any technology transfer agreements with either indigenous or multinational companies. Bluntly put, the hi-tech scheme was an unparalleled failure.
Despite its best efforts to penetrate the fog surrounding MLE, the Dáil Committee has so far failed to secure the information or documents it is seeking. The withholding of relevant documents by the liquidator is both unprecedented and outrageous.
A key question to be answered is who was paid what in the murky affairs of this organisation? It is in the public interest that the Dáil Committee bring to light the truth behind the highly unsatisfactory project.
This murky affair is a timely reminder of the important work being carried by the State’s financial watchdog, the C&AG. An apolitical figure, he has effectively intensified the focus of the man and woman in the street on how this Government is spending or, as we have seen in so many instances, recklessly misspending taxpayers’ money on white elephants.
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