SOME £15 million of taxpayers' money was spent on a project to help tourists trace their Irish roots but the tax-payer has little to show for it, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said yesterday.
The bulk of the money came from FAS, the State training agency.
The Irish Genealogical Project (IGP) was established in 1988 after a study which concluded there was potential to develop tourism by providing a fast and reliable system of researching family trees.
The IGP entailed the establishment of a network of centres throughout the State using FAS-funded trainees. Between 1988 and 1996, FAS spent £12.5 million on the project, according to the CAG.
Bord Failte and Shannon Development also committed substantial resources to the venture, the CAG says in a value-for-money report published yesterday.
The CAG's report found that by mid-1996 it was estimated that less than 30 per cent of the estimated 29 million target records had been captured on the IGP's computer system.
He also found that 13 per cent of the records to be included in a computer base relate to geographic areas (Cos Louth, Monaghan, Wicklow and parts of Cork) that are not covered by genealogical centres participating in the project.
A chief executive, identified in 1990 as critical to the success of the project, was not appointed until August 1996, according to the report.
Three project officers were appointed between 1989 and 1991 but "unclear reporting relationships" and the delay in appointing a chief executive undermined the roles played by these officers. Also, the report claims, the uncertainty surrounding the project meant the officers were unsure if they were going to be paid.
The CAG says that although FAS, Bord Failte and Shannon Development committed substantial resources to the IGP, "they did not take a lead role in developing the project and have not committed themselves to funding the project's completion".