The Department of Finance has been criticised in a new report for its role in the overspending of millions of euro on a major flood protection scheme for Kilkenny city.
The Kilkenny flood relief scheme on the river Nore ended up costing the State some €48 million.
This is nearly four times its original estimate of €13 million.
A Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report, to be published today, says that the cost estimates for the scheme were "seriously wide of the mark" and based on "inaccurate information".
It calls for new procedures to be put in place to prevent such an overspend on a public project again.
"The Department of Finance had a greater responsibility and an obligation to examine the figures presented to it by the OPW [Office of Public Works], which it failed to do," the report says.
"The important point with this scheme was that it was accepted publicly by local public representatives as being worth €13.5 million.
"The Department of Finance watched it increase from that figure to approximately €50 million, including compensation costs."
The report recommends that in future figures should not be submitted to the Minister for Finance or any appropriate Minister for public schemes until "sufficient work is carried out to produce a reasonable estimate of costs".
It adds that State bodies should ensure that a mechanism exists for consulting adequately with all of the relevant interested parties prior to the commencement of major projects.
It says one individual should be appointed to deal with problems arising during the course of projects.
The Office of Public Works admitted 18 months ago that there were construction deficiencies in the flood protection scheme on the Nore.
This it blamed on "bad workmanship" by contractors.
A fish pass on the weir had to be redesigned after it emerged that salmon were being blocked from travelling upstream to spawn.
The cost of this repair work led to the huge overspend on the project.
The OPW has claimed the scheme has provided value for money, and defended the design of the scheme this year even when the problems with the fish pass emerged.
Today's Public Accounts Committee report, which has been seen by The Irish Times, echoes a report last year from the Comptroller and Auditor General which detailed and which was critical of the major overspend on the Kilkenny weir.
PAC says there was "a lack of realism" in early estimates for the Kilkenny project.
It said this was particularly so in relation to the cost of archaeology and compensation bearing in mind that the work was being carried out in an "architecturally-rich location".
It said the project highlighted gaps in project management practices.
There were also "significant gaps in management and qualifications, particularly in the finance area".
The committee questions in its report how the estimates for the flood protection project increased to €47.8 million even though three different processes, estimates, tenders and contract price, were involved.
It says that there was a lack of proper consultation with the relevant interested parties prior to the commencement of the Kilkenny project.