Review into botched Arts Council IT project makes 149 recommendations

By Bairbre Holmes, Press Association

A review into a failed IT project, which cost almost €7 million of public money, has made 149 recommendations and said five key factors were the cause.

The Arts Council initiative was in development from 2019 until it was abandoned in 2024, at a cost of €6.7 million.

An Expert Advisory Committee, led by Professor Niamh Brennan, conducted a review which was published on Tuesday.

It found the Arts Council understated the cost of the project in its business case; its scope and objectives repeatedly changed; the organisation’s system of governance failed; it was also going through a period of “significant expansion” with “pressures elsewhere”; and departmental oversight was “too informal”.

Out of the 149 recommendations in the review, 100 apply specifically to the Arts Council and three were made to all Government departments.

The review details a wide range of issues including the operation of its board, the role of the director and senior management, and communication with the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport.

In a statement, arts minister Patrick O’Donovan said there will be “significant change in the organisation”.

“This will be important for the wider arts sector.”

He said his department will “establish a robust oversight system to monitor implementation of the recommendations”, details of which will be developed over “coming weeks”.