Tánaiste Simon Harris has warned that breaches of the public spending code cannot be allowed to go unpunished, as he criticised the Arts Council for its handling of a multi-million euro failed IT project which came to light this week.
Speaking in the Dáil on Thursday, Harris described the issue as “absolutely alarming” and insisted that public money must be spent responsibly.
“Breaching the public spending code cannot be a consequence-free zone – it simply cannot,” he said.
“People can make mistakes in terms of the delivery of projects. That is one thing, but it is very different when you just ignore the public spending code and the various approval processes.”
Harris pointed to multiple failures by the Arts Council, including its failure to properly estimate costs, repeatedly extending contracts beyond approved limits, and bypassing required Department approval for additional funding between 2021 and 2024. These actions, he said, likely violated public procurement rules and EU regulations on contract modifications.
The Tánaiste also noted that the Arts Council failed to disclose these breaches in its required governance reports.
“We do not expect it to be spent on a computer system that does not work and we do not expect millions of euros of taxpayers’ money to be wasted, with nothing to show for it,” he said.
“There are extraordinarily serious questions for the Arts Council.”
Harris praised newly-appointed Arts Minister Patrick O’Donovan for acting swiftly on the matter, briefing the Cabinet and launching an external review of the Arts Council’s governance and culture. He emphasised that the Public Accounts Committee should also investigate the issue once it reconvenes.
“Looking at the table of companies involved in this project, at least 20 are listed,” he said.
“It is spreadsheet after spreadsheet. People made significant amounts of money and profited from this, but we do not have a computer system.”
The controversy follows calls from opposition TDs for greater accountability over the Arts Council’s spending, with some questioning whether details of the overspend were deliberately withheld until after the general election. The total cost of the failed IT project is estimated at around €7 million, with the Comptroller and Auditor General identifying a loss of value at €5.3 million as of mid-2024.
Harris acknowledged that there are issues with the Department of Arts’ oversight of the Arts Council and said this must also be examined as part of the external review.
“The Arts Council has responsibility for a very sizeable budget, which has significantly increased in recent years. There are also issues with regard to the Department’s oversight, and I do not shirk away from that either,” he added.