The former chairman of CIÉ has said that he was first aware that the project was in trouble two years after work had started. Brian Joyce told Oireachtas Sub Committee inquiring into cost overruns on a signalling system that he first heard about difficulties with the system when CIÉ's Chief Executive, the late Michael McDonnell, phoned him in September 1999.
Mr Joyce said he immediately stopped payments for the system, and told Mr McDonnell to inform the Department of Public Enterprise, as the system was partly funded by the European Union.
The enquiry was also told today that a report by Price Waterhouse Cooper on the financial state of the project was prepared in October 1999. At that time, the projected cost had risen to £40m.
However, CIÉ's Chief Financial Officer did not send that report to the board. Jim Cullen said today that he felt a more extensive report was needed, which detailed what had gone wrong and the reasons behind the problems. A subsequent PWC report was not discussed by the board until the following September.
Iarnród Éireann's Richard O'Farrell was asked about another progress report, a memo Michael McDonnell had asked him to prepare in January 2000. Mr McDonnell had asked him not to include that memo in board papers.
SIPTU worker/director Bill McCamley told the Sub Committee that he and colleague Paul Cullen had suspicions about mini CTC in November 1999, but they were worried that the details would be buried. Mr McCamley said that other members of the board had implied they were not acting in the best interests of CIÉ.
Later in the proceedings, Gerry Dalton of Iarnród Éireann appeared before the committee. Mr Dalton rejected evidence previously given by one of the companies involved in installing the system, and said the majority of the faults were on the side of the contractors.
