Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 208: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the saving to the State if all overtime paid to Secretaries General, deputy Secretaries General, assistant secretaries, principal officers higher, principal officers, assistant principal officers higher and assistant principal officers was not paid in 2010. [30741/11]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The particular civil service grades concerned do not receive overtime payments under their terms and conditions of employment. Accordingly, no such payments were paid to these grades in 2010.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 209: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his views that it is best practice to have his Department's Secretary General, the Secretary General to the Government and two other senior public servants on the top level appointments committee, TLAC, particularly in view of the exorbitant pay and pension payouts awarded to the said civil servants by TLAC's generous exit terms. [30744/11]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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It is my view that it is best practice to have senior managers in the civil service to be involved in the selection process for Assistant Secretaries and Secretary General posts.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 210: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the person responsible for the performance reviews of Secretaries General; if it is the Minister, to whom the Secretary General is appointed, his views that this to be best practice in view of the fact that the Minister and his or her Secretary General are equally reliant on one another to present a positive outlook on the work of the Department. [30745/11]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Secretary General is the Civil Service Head of a Government Department. The duties and responsibilities of a Secretary General are set out in the Public Service Management Act 1997. Secretaries General are responsible for managing their Department subject to the policy direction of their Minister. Their responsibilities include producing a Strategy Statement in respect of the Department for the Minister, reporting on its implementation, providing advice to the Minister and ensuring the resources of the Department are used appropriately and effectively. The Secretary General supports the Minister in the carrying out of the latter's duties and responsibilities as a member of the Government and as political head of the Department.

The Minister's key conduit of contact with the overall organisational arrangements for the Department should be through the Secretary General.

While Secretaries General are responsible for implementing the Performance Management and Development System (PMDS) within their Departments they, in their own posts, are not formally part of the process. However, there is a body of procedures against which the performance of the Secretary General can be assessed.

The principal framework for assessing the performance of Secretaries General is the Departmental Strategy Statement which is submitted to the Minister. This, in conjunction with the Annual Output Statements which are submitted to the Minister each year, provide information to allow for an assessment of the organisation's performance in meeting objectives. The Annual Output Statements make explicit what the public can expect to see delivered, in terms of public service outputs and outcomes, from the public moneys that are voted to them by the Dáil each year. These Output Statements are considered by the relevant Dáil Select Committees alongside their consideration of the Annual Estimates. For the 2011 Estimates, the Annual Output Statements were superseded with a new 'performance budgeting' initiative, involving the integration of the key output/outcome information alongside the financial allocations within the Departmental Estimate itself. This approach, which was piloted for the Finance, Public Expenditure & Reform and Agriculture Groups of Votes, is being rolled out more generally for the 2012 Estimates. The overall intention, in line with Government Programme commitments, is to heighten the focus upon overall performance and delivery by Departments and Offices, and improve accountability by office-holders for the achievement of results.

In most cases, the Secretary General is also the Accounting Officer for the Department with statutory responsibility for preparing the Appropriation Accounts for the Department and giving evidence before the Public Accounts Committee in relation to the management of public funds.

As regards the Secretary General's Accounting Officer function there is a rigorous independent examination of regularity, propriety and value for money by the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Public Accounts Committee. The Comptroller and Auditor General also carries out individual VFM examinations on the economy and efficiency with which a Department uses its resources.

These review and evaluation processes are critical in promoting a culture of continuous performance improvement.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 211: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his views on whether it is appropriate to have appointed the Secretary General to the Department of Finance to the European Court of Auditors, a position that requires deep technical competence and moral courage, in view of the fact that several international reports have revealed that the Department of Finance in the years prior to and following the financial crisis lacked the technical skills to do its job and was guilty of timidity and deference. [30746/11]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Any matter relating to the appointment of the Secretary General of the Department of Finance to the European Court of Auditors should be addressed to the Minister for Finance.