In May 2000 General Council Report 1368 (GC 1368) introduced the Performance Management and Development System (PMDS) in the civil service and this is implemented in my Department.
The Public Service Agreement 2010-2014 contains a commitment ‘to introduce significantly improved performance management across all Public Service areas, and following the current review, the Performance Management and Development System will be strengthened with promotion and incremental progression linked in all cases to performance and the implementation of appropriate systems to address under-performance, including, where appropriate, training or, where necessary, through disciplinary procedures".
In the civil service work is well underway on achieving this goal. The 2010 Evaluation of PMDS has been completed. The Department of Finance is in discussions with Unions in relation to strengthening PMDS.
Performance management in the civil service is already linked to promotion and to incremental progression and the Department of Finance is leading an assessment of the systems in place to address underperformance. My Department will implement a revised Performance Management and Development System promptly on its agreement.