Over €65m was spent by the Department of Agriculture in both 2023 and 2024 on IT contractors. The new figures revealed by the Department only account for external IT provision and do not include any internal spend.
Over €65m was spent by the Department of Agriculture in both 2023 and 2024 on IT contractors.
The new figures revealed by the Department only account for external IT provision and do not include any internal spend.
In 2024, just north of €65m was paid out by the Department to IT contractors, while slightly more was spent the year previous, €65.2m.
The two highest paid contractors were the same in both years, however, in different orders.
In 2024, Capgemini Ireland was paid €6.5m for its services, while Ernst & Young received €5.9m.
In 2023, Ernst & Young was paid €6.8m. Some €6.1m was spent on Capgemini Ireland’s services that year.
In 2024, the company with the third highest remuneration was Auxilion Ireland, which received €2.6m, while it was Hibernia Computer Services in 2023, paid €3.1m.
Some information was provided on the cost of contractors in relation to specific software and schemes. However, the list was not exhaustive.
The amount paid out to contractors for the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) was €3.6m in 2024 and just under €4m in 2023.
No information was provided in relation to contractor costs for the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES), the IT system belonging to which has been blamed for delayed payments.
Codec, the firm embroiled in controversy over a €6.6m spend by the Arts Council on an IT system that was never delivered, was paid €1m and €1.4m in 2024 and 2023, respectively, by the Department of Agriculture.
Codec’s website said it built a chatbot for the Department to “reduce call volumes and improve communications”.
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: