Hospital admits new HR and Payroll system overran by €3 million

Ottoline Spearman

Beaumont Hospital has admitted a project for a new HR and Payroll system overran by almost €3 million, while the project was never put out to tender.

The Public Accounts Committee was told on Thursday that it was initially estimated that the new system would cost €1.9 million.

However, the final bill for the new system at the Dublin hospital will now be €4.8 million.

The Irish Times reported that committee chairman John Brady of Sinn Féin described the information about the IT system as “a bombshell”. He criticised hospital management for not alerting the Public Accounts Committee in advance about the issue before a scheduled hearing on Thursday.

Details of the overspending on the project emerged after a question tabled by Labour Party TD, Eoghan Kenny, who had received a tip-off about the issue.

Speaking following the hearing, Mr Kenny said it was “disgraceful” that senior figures from the hospital had had to be asked about this process, rather than providing the information relating to the overspend in their submissions to the committee.

“This matter would have been swept under the carpet had staff members in the hospital not made me aware of this massive overspend of taxpayers’ money.

“No reference was made to this overspend in the documentation provided to the Public Accounts Committee in advance of today’s hearing.”

The director of finance at the hospital, Francis Hanlon, said when he joined the hospital five months ago, there was a derogation in place in relation to the IT project – which meant it did not have to go out to tender. He said he had reviewed this issue and did not believe that a derogation was applicable in this case. He said he had raised the issue internally with hospital management.