Minister publishes review of Arts Council IT project
Minister for Media Patrick O'Donovan has welcomed the Expert Advisory Committee's (EAC) Independent Review of the Governance and Organisational culture of The Arts Council of Ireland.
It was commissioned in the aftermath of the controversy of the €5.3 million write down of the failed IT project at The Arts Council which came to light a year ago.
Chaired by Professor Niamh Brennan, Minister O'Donovan has now published the review.
"Upon taking office last year, it was brought to my attention that the annual report for The Arts Council for 2023 included a report by the C&AG of a failed €6.675 million IT project in that organisation," he said.
Minister O'Donovan said he had brought the report to Government and then established the EAC to conduct an independent review.
He said the report, which was seen by RTÉ News last week, set out 149 recommendations and includes proposed legislative changes.
'Five key factors'
It identified "five key factors" which "contributed to the project failure".
As earlier reported they included that The Arts Council's business case for the project "understated the costs", project scope and objectives continued to change throughout the project’s lifecycle, systems of governance "failed" at The Arts Council, with "low senior management cohesion, an immature risk culture and limited Board oversight".
The Arts Council lacked ICT and project management expertise, over-relied on third party suppliers and did not properly manage contracts.
The review also addressed the relationship between his own department and The Arts Council with the Minister outlining that the review found that "departmental oversight was too informal" and issues with the project were "not escalated" to the appropriate level within the Department.
The review also addressed the "significant expansion" which The Arts Council was experiencing, including "pressures elsewhere" with a significant growth in staff and budget, "more than doubling between 2015 and 2023".
It is "critically important" that there is the greatest possible level of transparency regarding the factors that gave rise to such a significant loss of public funds, he said, adding that it is "essential" that "we are clear about the steps that will be taken to prevent any recurrence of such failings in The Arts Council or in any other State body".
Minister O'Donovan added that he and his Department would be "engaging directly" with The Arts Council adding that this will be "important for the wider arts sector".
He said that the Department will also establish a "robust oversight system" to monitor implementation of the recommendations, details of which will be developed over the coming weeks.
He concluded by thanking Prof Brennan and her fellow committee members, Dr Margaret Cullen and John McCarthy for their work in carrying out this review.
Shortcomings identified 'should not have occurred'
Responding to the publication of the review, The Arts Council released a statement which stated that it "fully acknowledges" the findings of the EAC's review and accepts its conclusions.
The shortcomings identified "should not have occurred" the statement said, adding that "we regret the impact this has had".
The Arts Council also said that it is "taking responsibility for putting this right" and look forward to working closely with the Department to implement all of the recommendations.
Its statement outlined that "changes have already been made to the senior management team", a new project management office has been established they said, and that the areas of ICT, finance, procurement, risk and reporting have all been, and continue to be, "strengthened with new processes, procedures and expertise".
A new chairperson and many new board members are in place, and an interim director was appointed last year.
The statement also said that the review "highlights learnings" for the wider public service and for Government oversight.
The focus now is on "rebuilding public trust through actions and evidence", and on ensuring The Arts Council is governed and managed to the standards the public, the arts sector and their staff are "entitled" to expect, it said.
The Arts Council supports high-quality arts across Ireland. In 2025, support was provided to 591 organisations and festivals, 980 individual artists, 32 local authorities including Ealaín na Gaeltachta, 349 schools, 198 projects, and 54 arts centres.
