Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 February 2013
269. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide details of the payment of bonuses or other performance related payments and or allowances made to the staff of agencies under the aegis of his Department with a yearly breakdown from 2008 outlining the overall amount paid in each year period and the number of staff that received such payments and or allowances. [10163/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Civil Service Scheme of performance related awards for posts at the levels of Assistant Secretary and Deputy Secretary the Chief Executive Officers of both the State Examinations Commission and the National Council for Special Education were eligible for awards. This Scheme was terminated in 2009. Awards made to individual officers under this scheme for 2008 are not disclosed as they are confidential and personal to the officers concerned. Details of the operation of this Scheme are available on the Department of Finance website at www.finance.gov.ie. As the Deputy is aware responsibility for FÁS transferred from the then named Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation (D/ETI) to my Department with effect from 1st May 2010. A total of €142,642.75 in bonus payments was paid to top management staff in FÁS in 2008 in respect of work carried out in 2007. This scheme has been suspended indefinitely with no further bonus payments made after 2008.
The payments of increments to civil servants in bodies under the aegis of my Department are linked to performance and there is a minimum standard of performance required to be deemed eligible to progress to the next point of the pay scale appropriate to the grade of the staff member. The latest pay scales for General Service Grades which came into effect on 1 January, 2010, are set out in Circular 28/2009: Revision of pay of Civil Servants available at www.finance.gov.ie/documents/circulars. Because of the number of employees and payroll systems across agencies, providing detailed figures outlining each increment paid in each specific year would involve a disproportionate administrative burden as this information is not collated centrally by this Department.
