Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 221: To ask the Minister for Finance his views on the introduction of a temporary bonus holiday for high-paid public servants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31979/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The great majority of public servants do not qualify for performance-related awards and the cost of such awards is a very small part of the public service pay bill. Following recommendations of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector, schemes of performance-related awards were introduced for the levels of Deputy Secretary and Assistant Secretary in the civil service, the Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner ranks in the Garda Síochána and the ranks of Brigadier General and Major General in the Defence Forces. The Review Body recommended these awards as part of the overall remuneration package of the groups concerned. In 2007, 221 persons in those groups received an award. The overall cost of the awards was about 3 million euro.

Performance-related awards do not apply to the most senior posts of Secretary General, Garda Commissioner and Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces. The schemes of awards are based on performance by reference to demanding targets. The pool for performance awards is 10% of the pay bill for the group concerned. Within that overall limit individuals can receive payments of up to 20% of pay (although payments at that level would be very rare). I have no role in the decisions on awards. Decisions on awards are made by the Committee for Performance Awards (CPA), which includes a majority of private sector members. Details of the procedures, the numbers covered by the schemes, 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).

There are separate schemes of performance-related awards for senior staff of local authorities and the health service. These schemes of awards were also recommended by the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector. I have no role in the decisions on these awards either. The Committee for Performance Awards in the Local Authority sector deals with the assessment of performance for senior managers in local authorities. For senior managers in the health service, the board of the HSE/relevant agency makes awards based on the agreed criteria. The scheme is quality assured by an Oversight Committee which is chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of Health and Children. Schemes of performance-related awards may also apply to the Chief Executive Officers of non-commercial State sponsored bodies (and in some cases, to the second tier of management). Decisions on awards are the responsibility of the Board of the body concerned. Access to a scheme of performance-related awards may be part of the employment contract of the persons concerned.