Rampant politicking within CI╔ left the company's last chief executive in an impossible position, the inquiry heard yesterday.
Former CI╔ chairman, Mr Brian Joyce, said the late Mr Michael McDonnell, who resigned from the company in February and died in April, faced serious problems which his successor would also encounter unless radical changes were made.
He said the three companies which made up CI╔ each valued their independence greatly and it was difficult to extract sensitive information from them. Mr McDonnell had come into the company as an outside recruit from the Department of Public Enterprise which exacerbated his difficulties.
"When somebody comes in from outside...it's an incredibly difficult job in an ordinary public limited company - it's virtually impossible in a State company because there are already people there who feel their job has been usurped," Mr Joyce said.
"You get political games being played at that stage. I believe CI╔ was rampant with that." Mr Joyce said Mr McDonnell became aware that the rail signalling project was in trouble on September 28th, 1999, at an Iarnr≤d ╔ireann meeting and immediately addressed the problem.
He mounted several investigations; brought in consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers to assess the situation and discussed with the Minister for Public Enterprise Iarnr≤d ╔ireann's ability to manage major projects. He also decided to improve the reporting system within the company.
Mr Pat Rabbitte TD questioned Mr Joyce as to why Mr Paul Cullen, a train driver on the Iarnr≤d ╔ireann board, knew more at the board meeting about the signalling difficulties than the chief executive did.Mr Joyce said in his experience in business, if he wanted to know the real story, he was more likely to find it on the shop floor.