€975 a day for payroll experts

The PPARS debacle rolls on:

Computer experts hired through a mystery offshore company to work on the failed PPARS payroll system for the health service were being paid up to €975 a day.

Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information act show that consultants supplied by Blackmore Group Assets (BGAL) were receiving monthly payments that in some cases amounted to €30,000 — the average annual industrial wage in Ireland.

Nine people were contracted through BGAL and worked on the PPARS project from 2002 to 2004.

The same story was reported in the Examiner last year, after a probe by Fine Gael into Blackmore Group Assets.