The Health Service Executive has moved to terminate its contract with the consultancy company at the centre of the PPARs controversy, Deloitte. However, The Irish Times has learned that the firm will continue to be paid for another 30 days, under the terms and conditions of the contract, writes Liam Reid, Political Reporter
It has also emerged that the company has continued to be paid for work on the system since July, at a time when the future of the project was the subject of a major review by the health authorities, and when there was an order that no additional staff from within the health services be assigned to the project.
There are no figures on the amount of money the firm has earned on the contract since then, or on what it can expect to earn over the next month while the external consultants finish up on the project.
However, figures to date indicate that the company has been earning fees of over €1 million per month on the contract since the beginning of 2005. Continuing payments to Deloitte have been criticised by Fine Gael.
According to figures obtained by The Irish Times last week, the company has been paid a total of just over €60 million for both PPARs and its sister project FISP since 1999.
Work on both systems was formally suspended last Thursday at the order of the board of the HSE, while a formal review of the projects takes place.
However, in an attempt to end ongoing payments to Deloitte which could have continued during the review and into next year, the HSE has moved to terminate the contracts with the firm.
Last week in the Dáil, both the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, and Minister for Health Mary Harney said the consultancy costs on the PPARs project were excessive.
The controversy has also led to a major reform of how the Government monitors major computer and IT projects. Government Ministers now have to assure themselves about spending within their departments on outside consultants.
The PPARs project was due to deliver a complete payroll and personnel management system for 140,000 health staff, but to date it deals with the records of less than a third of this number.
FISP, which was at a much earlier stage of development, was being designed as a central finance and budget management system for the entire health service.
The projects have cost €146 million to date and would cost nearly €400 million if fully completed.
The HSE is due to decide on their future in the coming months.
However, The Irish Times has learned that regardless of the outcome of the review, the HSE has terminated its contract with Deloitte relating to the PPARs project.
It has now given Deloitte 30 days' notice for terminating the contract.
However the contract and payments to Deloitte could end before the 30-day deadline, according to HSE sources.
Under the contract between Deloitte and the health authorities, the company is also entitled to additional compensation for delaying work on either PPARs or FISP, if the work suspension was ordered by the health authorities.
Fine Gael criticised the ongoing payments to Deloitte.
"This information will drive the ordinary taxpayer mad," said Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny. "Once again because of the Government's incompetence during contract negotiations, the taxpayer is left to foot a bill potentially running into millions of euro for work that simply isn't being done."
Meanwhile it has also emerged that Deloitte and Touche, which includes the both accountancy and consultancy divisions of the firm, has earned more than €12 million from providing various services to Government departments since 1997.
According to details provided in the Dáil to Labour spokeswoman Joan Burton, the firm won 106 separate contracts from various Government departments to supply auditing and consultancy services, ranging in value from just under €800 to over €1 million.