Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 109: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of staff members who have been dismissed from her Department in each of the past five years and their grade and reason for dismissal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36501/09]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Three Civil Servants were dismissed from my Department in the last five years for misconduct. All 3 were dismissed during 2009. Confidentiality concerns preclude me from giving details of the grades of the individuals involved.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 110: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the reason only 3% of staff in her Department received an unacceptable or needs improvement rating; her views on whether this is an accurate reflection of her Department's strengths and weakness in terms of personnel; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36502/09]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 111: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she is satisfied with the operation of the performance management development system within her Department; her views on whether under-performance is being tackled and good performance is being acknowledged as stated in the report of the organisation review programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36503/09]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 110 and 111 together.

The 3% figure quoted by the Deputy is the result of annual reviews undertaken by managers with almost 1,000 staff in the Department and its offices under the Performance Management Development System, PMDS. The PMDS system does not impose any ideal or targeted distribution of ratings. My Department's priority is to ensure that PMDS is an effective mechanism for managing performance in the organisation. In that regard, my Department has always enthusiastically embraced the system as a vital tool for managing and developing the performance of staff to enable them to contribute fully to the work of the Department. The report of the Organisational Review Programme, ORP, found that the training and development aspects of PMDS in the Department were good and that staff found the PMDS dialogue a useful process of engagement with their managers. The ORP identified some room for improvement including the need to better address underperformance and poor performance.

New guidelines for managing underperformance have been prepared under the Department's updated human resources strategy and are almost finalised. Included in the guidelines are objectives for recognising underperformance at an early stage and identifying the underlying causes of such performance; strategies for managing underperformance and supporting managers; and methods for invoking the disciplinary procedures available to managers. In conjunction with the development of these guidelines, the Department has initiated an internal training programme for managers at all levels in managing underperformance, which will begin later this month. The ORP also found that many managers do not sufficiently manage good performance. The Department acknowledges that the use of feedback is important in ensuring that good performance is recognised. It is reviewing the provision of training for all staff in how to make the most effective use of feedback in recognising good performance at all levels of the organisation.

The Department is always proactive in regard to the training and development of staff at every level. From induction training through grade-based development programmes and specific competency development training, the Department is vigilant in ensuring that its staff members are constantly upskilled in order to fulfil their roles while achieving the strategic objectives of the Department.