Revenue paid €90m to management consultancy

The Revenue Commissioners paid almost €90 million to the management consultancy and technology services company Accenture for contract work over recent years, it has emerged.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan told the Dáil the company had been one of a number of firms which provided IT-related work for the Revenue Commissioners in recent years. A total of 39 companies and organisations received more than €131 million between them to carry out IT-related work for the Revenue Commissioners between 2008 and 2011. Accenture received €11.69 million in 2011, €25.436 million in 2010, €22.466 million in 2009 and €28.927 million in 2008.

Question tabled

Other companies included Fujitsu (Ireland) Limited, which received €19.72 million in the three-year-period; Deloitte, which received €7.91 million and System Dynamics, which received over €6 million . In an answer to a question tabled by Labour Party TD Joanna Tuffy, the Minister said expenditure on external IT resources was required by Revenue to engage computer experts to develop, support and maintain critical IT projects.

A spokeswoman for the Revenue Commissioners said it engaged computer experts to develop, support and maintain critical IT projects such as Revenue online services and integrated taxpayer processing.

EU requirements

She said many IT developments on which expenditure on external IT resources was required were due to mandatory processes such as changes to the Finance Act and EU requirements.

“The software developments that result from such expenditure are tangible assets and are recognised as such in Revenue’s annual appropriate account.

“Contracts are awarded following appropriate request for tender procedures and the work undertaken by external resources is supervised and authorised by Revenue managers,” she said.

The Revenue Commissioners are to play a key role in the collection and management of the controversial property tax to be introduced next year and also in the collection of this year’s household charge, which many householders failed to pay. The property tax is to be based on valuation guidelines to be issued by Revenue before May 1st next year.