Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 698: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the bonuses that were paid to his staff for the year ending 31 December 2005; the amount of money that was paid; the way in which this was calculated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1920/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I do not have any role whatsoever in the process or decision making in this matter. This is a matter for the Accounting Officer of my Department.

Two schemes involving annual performance-related pay and bi-annual merit awards are in operation in the Department of Foreign Affairs. These are the scheme of performance-related pay awards for officers at the level of deputy secretary and assistant secretary and the merit awards scheme for officials, the details of which are common to all Departments.

A number of once-off merit awards were also granted during 2005 to officers based in the Passport Office, for their exceptional contribution to the successful introduction of a new automated passport production and issuing system. One other once-off award was made last year in recognition of the exceptional dedication to duty of the officer concerned.

With some exceptions, for example where gift vouchers below a certain value threshold rather than money are given, statutory deductions, including income tax, are made in the normal way on such awards.

Civil Service posts at the levels of assistant secretary and deputy secretary have been, since 2002, 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 across the Civil Service, the range of awards and the total amounts paid by Departments are outlined in the annual reports of the committee, which is available on the website - www.finance.gov.ie. The committee does not identify the amounts paid to individuals, as this is regarded as personal information.

On the merit awards scheme, under the Department's administrative budget agreement with the Department of Finance a fund, amounting to 0.2% of the Department's salaries budget, is available each year to the Secretary General in respect of ex gratia payments or other awards to individual staff members or groups of staff, by way of recognition of exceptional performance of duty. This scheme is administered by a sub-group of the Department's partnership committee, which assesses nominations for merit awards and makes recommendations to the Secretary General. The objective of the scheme is to reward cases of genuinely exceptional performance by officers in grades up to, and including, counsellor/principal officer level. Particular attention is paid by the sub-group to the grades of nominees and to the nature and quality of the activities described in the written nominations.