Latest news with #MauraMcGrath
Irish Times
12 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Arts Council stopped three times from spending money on outside partners after botched IT project
The Arts Council was forced to stop spending money with an external partner for a third time in the aftermath of a botched €6.7 million IT project. Minister for Culture Patrick O'Donovan had previously told it to discontinue spending on legal cases pursuing some of the companies involved in the ill-fated project, and it was forced in March to pull a tender for PR advice in advance of Oireachtas grillings on the matter. Now, internal documents seen by The Irish Times show that it was last month also told to stop spending with an external firm of consultants on governance advice. In an email sent on May 21st this year, the department's secretary general Feargal Ó Coigligh reminded Arts Council chair Maura McGrath that the body had been told not to spend on services outside of its routine operational requirements. READ MORE It arose, he wrote, after Ms McGrath told a senior official in the department that a company had been engaged 'in respect of the appearance by the Arts Council at the Public Accounts Committee'. Mr Ó Coigligh demanded a report on the spending with the firm and why it was being undertaken. In response, Ms McGrath said the work being done by the firm did not contravene the earlier order from Mr O'Donovan, and forwarded an email from the firm concerned. It outlined that it was providing assistance in preparing the Arts Council delegation to 'understand and be in a position to fully discharge their statutory and code of practice related accountability obligations during the forthcoming appearance at PAC and JOC [Joint Oireachtas Committee]'. The email outlined that the firm did not provide PR or public affairs advice but instead focused on assisting clients 'understand and properly discharge their governance functions'. Despite several references in the emails to upcoming Oireachtas committee hearings, a spokeswoman for the Arts Council told The Irish Times that preparation was 'managed internally' and said that 'no company, including the one referred to, was engaging in work relating to committees prep'. She said the firm was engaged to supply advice to the Arts Council board and that 'professional services to the board are a separate matter'. The Arts Council outlined that the advice was coming under a pre-existing contract that was run in January 2024. Responding, Mr Ó Coigligh told the Arts Council chair that even though the firm was not providing public affairs or PR advice, he considered 'the work being carried out ... falls outside the routine operational requirements' and no further liability 'should be matured under this contract'. The Arts Council spokeswoman said it is 'confident in its compliance' with directions from the Minister. No further services have been drawn down under the contract since, she said. Elsewhere, the Arts Council has said that its former chair Maureen Kennelly declared a conflict of interest in 2023 when a publisher that released a book of short stories authored by her husband successfully applied for an €80,000 grant from the State agency. The publisher, Doire Press, was awarded the sum in the same year that it published Night Music by Fergus Cronin. A spokeswoman for the Arts Council said: 'In relation to all staff members, including members of the executive, a robust conflict of interest process is also in place. With 8,600 applications received each year, and the many connections that could arise therefore, this is a very necessary part of Arts Council process. A conflict of interest was declared for the Arts Grant Funding application of Doire Press for 2023 by Maureen Kennelly during the decision-making process.'
RTÉ News
29-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Arts Council 'greatly regrets' €6.7m IT failure, PAC hears
The Arts Council has said it "greatly regrets" spending €6.7 million on a complex IT project that was later abandoned, the Public Accounts Committee has heard. The council confirmed that it is now pursuing legal cases against two of the IT contractors involved in the failed project. Arts Council chairperson Maura McGrath said that in relation to the IT system failure the project was "not and is not an optional extra". "It began out of necessity, and it is a necessity that remains to be addressed." She also questioned the expectation that "small state bodies set up for specialist purposes" should be expected to "carry the load on complex IT projects". Ms McGrath added that the Arts Council "accepts the findings" of the Examination Report published by the Department of Arts in February this year. Arts Council Director Maureen Kennelly said that council began this project to modernise its IT systems and integrate five systems into one, explaining that the systems date from 2008, are not integrated and are difficult to use. Everything on this project was procured under public procurement guidelines, she said, adding that the council used the Office of Government Procurement framework, and the main contractor was on the OGP approved ICT framework. She added that the council "engaged external contractors to manage and deliver the work, as we did not have the internal resources to deliver this large-scale project". Ms Kennelly said that as the council approached their expected delivery in September 2022, a year later than initially planned, "multiple bugs were discovered". The sub-standard work meant the project could not move forward to completion. The council then ended contracts with both the testers and developers, she said. She added that they changed the developers, project governance and management structure and began work to "rectify and complete the programme". Ms Kennelly then said that the council was ultimately advised that the system was "too flawed to rectify in a reasonable timeframe". She said that system development was then paused, and it stopped following a board decision, with the input of the office of the Government Chief Information Officer, in June 2024. The effect of this decision was an overall loss of value of €5.3 million, which was reported to the C&AG and included in the 2023 annual report and accounts. "Throughout, we provided information and discussed with our colleagues in the department how increasing costs were to be funded from within our capital grant. "In summary, lack of internal expertise, poor performance by our contractors and also, the impact of Covid-19 all contributed to the project failure." Ms Kennelly explained that the council has commenced legal proceedings against two contractors and is in the pre-action stage in relation to two others, adding that the council is "vigorously" pursuing the cases to reduce the loss to the taxpayer. She also said that they have senior ICT expertise in-house now and are in the process of implementing all recommendations relevant to us from the department's examination report. Secretary General of the Department of Tourism, Culture and Arts Feargal Ó Coigligh told the PAC that his department had "failed" to properly exercise its oversight function. He added that they "should have intervened more actively and much sooner" to reduce the exposure of the taxpayer to this failed project. The minister has established an Expert Advisory Committee, led by Professor Niamh Brennan, to review the Governance and Organisational Culture in the Arts Council, said Mr Ó Coigligh. A parallel review of the department's internal governance operations is also under way with the assistance of the IPA. National Gallery of Ireland A team from the National Gallery of Ireland will also appear before the PAC to explain why it purchased a scanner for €125,000, that has yet to be made operational. The X-ray machine purchased in 2017 will be operational by the end of the year, the National Gallery of Ireland has said. National Gallery Director Dr Caroline Campbell said issues around the storage of the scanner led to a contract being awarded for the construction of a "dedicated lead-lined cabinet". Dr Campbell said that the manufacturing of the X-ray cabinet will "commence shortly", with the expected delivery, installation and operation of the X-ray system, before the end of the year. She added that all costs associated with it will be borne from the resources generated by the National Gallery and not from the Exchequer.
Extra.ie
29-05-2025
- Business
- Extra.ie
Arts Council to hit back over its €6.7m IT failure
The Arts Council chair will criticise the Government for expecting 'small specialised State bodies to carry the load on complex IT projects' following tensions over a € 6.7 million failed software upgrade. Maura McGrath is also expected to tell the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that the Arts Council still requires a new system for processing grant applications and that failed efforts to update the current structure, which resulted in the loss of millions of euro, were not 'an optional extra'. Delegates from the Arts Council, the National Gallery of Ireland and the Department of Arts and Culture will appear before PAC this afternoon to face questions over recent spending scandals in the two State agencies. Maura McGrath, chair of the Arts Council. Pic: Leon Farrell / © Photocall Ireland In February, the Arts Council was heavily criticised after it emerged it spent € 6.7 million on a new grants management system, which was subsequently abandoned after multiple delays and complications. The 2023 accounts for the agency noted an overall loss of value in respect of the project at € 5.3 million up to June 2024. The organisation was sharply criticised by Arts Minister Patrick O'Donovan, who expressed his 'deep concern'. But Ms McGrath is set to question the Government's role in the fiasco at today's PAC. Pic: Sasko Lazarov/Photocallireland In her opening statement, seen by Ms McGrath will tell members that the body is attending the PAC 'to provide full transparent information, to be accountable for our actions'. But she is also expected to say that the controversial project 'was not and is not an optional extra'. 'It began out of necessity, and it is a necessity that remains to be addressed,' she will say. 'However, the expectation that small State bodies set up for specialist purposes should be expected to carry the load on complex IT projects, should be questioned,' she will further say. Arts Council director Maureen Kennelly, who will step down next month, will also appear at PAC. She will tell TDs that the IT systems date from 2008, and that 'a lack of internal expertise, poor performance by our contractors and also the impact of Covid-19, all contributed to the project failure'. She is set to tell PAC members that the Arts Council commenced legal proceedings against two contractors involved in the project and is in the 'pre-action stage' in relation to two others. 'We are vigorously pursuing our cases to reduce the loss to the taxpayer,' she will say. The National Gallery of Ireland will also tell PAC it is 'very sorry' for the delay in bringing a €125,000 X-ray machine – procured in 2017 – into use.
Irish Independent
29-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
National Gallery ‘very sorry' €125,000 X-ray device is still not in use eight years after it was bought
The gallery said 'weaknesses' in its project management practices had led to the device, bought in 2017 for the non-invasive analysis of artwork, going unused. The machine has been lying idle because a lead-lined room suitable to accommodate it has not been found. The gallery is now looking at putting the device into a lead-lined cabinet and is hoping it will be up and running by the end of the year 'at no additional expense to the Exchequer', gallery director Dr Caroline Campbell will tell the Dáil's public spending watchdog. 'The gallery is very sorry for the length of time that it has taken to get the X-ray system up and running. 'The X-ray system is an important piece of equipment which will be used and provide value for many years to come,' the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will be told today. It was the gallery's project management 'weaknesses' that were 'significantly' to blame for the machine still not being operational, TDs will be told. The pandemic and changes in staff are also among the reasons to be listed. 'Pressures on the use of our building, unanticipated operational issues following the reopening of the gallery's historic wings in 2017, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and changes of key senior personnel during this period have also been contributing factors,' she will tell the committee. However, the gallery has now made changes to prevent something like this happening again, TDs will hear. A tender has been awarded to build a lead-lined cabinet that can store the machine. ADVERTISEMENT 'Manufacture of the X-ray cabinet will commence shortly, with the expected delivery, installation and operation of the X-ray system, before the end of 2025. 'All costs associated with the resolution of the issue will be borne from the resources generated by the gallery and not from the Exchequer.' Representatives from the gallery will appear at the PAC to answer questions about the machine alongside staffers from the Arts Council, which faced controversy earlier this year for a failed €6.7m IT project. 'This project was not and is not an optional extra. It began out of necessity, and it is a necessity that remains to be addressed,' council chair Maura McGrath will tell the committee. Ms McGrath will defend the council's role in the failed IT project, saying there were questions over whether small and specialised state bodies should be expected to 'carry the load on complex IT projects'. The current IT system is from 2008, is not integrated and is difficult to use, director Maureen Kennelly will tell TDs. 'Everything on this project was procured under public procurement guidelines,' she will say.
NHK
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NHK
In Deep with Snack Bars - Outside in Lost in Academia
Japan's snack bars are a unique form of nightlife. Harvard-trained anthropologist Maura McGrath's research reveals a fascinating look into this world. What secrets do they hold? Maura singing karaoke Maura sings a duet Maura and a snack bar proprietress Maura reading a book
