Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 380: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the bonus or merit payments awarded to senior officials and staff each year since 2000, detailing the management and staff category; the purpose and the amount of the award and the highest award made and to whom. [28395/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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Civil Service posts at the levels of assistant secretary and deputy secretary are covered by a scheme of performance related awards. The operation of the scheme is overseen by the committee for performance awards. 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. Details of the procedures, the numbers covered by the scheme, the range of awards and the total amounts paid in Departments are outlined in the annual reports of the committee, available on the website www.finance.gov.ie. The committee does not identify the amount paid to individuals as this is regarded as personal information.

Prior to the introduction of the revised scheme in 2002, there was a scheme for assistant secretaries which was based on 4% of the pay bill for the group of assistant secretaries. The information requested is set out in the table hereunder.

The Department also operates an exceptional performance awards scheme for staff below the grade of assistant secretary. The total amount available for payment of awards cannot exceed 0.2% of the Department's payroll from the sanctioned subheads. Individual and group awards are only made in respect of genuinely exceptional performance where regard is had to the nature and quality of the activities involved and to the circumstances under which they are carried out. Particular regard is paid to the grade level of the staff member concerned and where the work is considered to be over and above the high quality performance normally expected of such grades.