Vol. 564 No. 5
35 Mr. McGinley asked the Minister for Finance the performance related awards which were paid in January 2003 in respect of performance in 2002; the cost to the Exchequer; and the key achievements which give rise to these payments. [9674/03]
Following the recommendations of the review body on higher remuneration in the public sector in its report dated 25 September 2000, the Government decided to replace the then existing scheme in the civil service with a new scheme of performance-related awards and to introduce the new scheme in the Garda Síochana and the Defence Forces. The new scheme applies to Civil Service posts at the levels of assistant secretary and deputy secretary and to comparable posts in the Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces. The scheme applies with effect from 1 January 2002 in the Civil Service and with effect from 1 May 2002 in the other areas.
Decisions on performance-related awards for individual posts are made by the Committee for Performance Awards based on recommendations from Secretaries General in the case of the civil service, the Garda Commissioner or the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces. The committee comprises the Secretary General, public service management and development, Department of Finance, the Secretary General to the Government and three members from the private sector. The funding for awards is based on 10% of the payroll for the posts covered by the scheme. Within this overall limit, payments of up to 20% can be made to individuals.
The Committee for Performance Awards has recently approved awards for the posts covered by the schemes of performance-related awards. To date, the awards approved cover 210 people. Of these 187 were in the Civil Service, 12 were in the Garda Síochána and 11 were in the Defence Forces. The awards made in respect of 2002 amounted to just under €2 million. This amount comprised approximately €1.8 million in the Civil Service, approximately €79,000 in the Garda Síochána and €57,000 in the Defence Forces. The overall amount of the awards represented 9.7% of the relevant pay bills.
