Eoghan Murphy (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 250: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of public service employees that have completed performance management development scheme assessments in 2011 by sector and if he will provide a breakdown of the scoring categories 5 to 1, in each sector. [30869/12]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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My Department collects data on the operation of the Performance Management and Development System (PMDS) in the Civil Service only. In this regard the Annual Evaluation of PMDS for 2011 was concluded recently and showed that 77% of civil servants completed PMDS assessments. The distribution of ratings in 2011 is set out as follows.

There has been an overall increase in PMDS completion rates since 2009. In that year, completion of PMDS was at 56%, rising to 69% in 2010 and to 77% in 2011.

The central aim of any performance management system is to support managers and employees in improving the performance of the individual and, in turn, the performance of the organisation.

The most important element of how effective performance management will be in an organisation is the skills and talent of line managers. My Department has developed a range of tools to support line managers in developing good management skills.

In addition to the skills of line management, it is also critical that the performance management system itself is designed in such a way as to support management and staff in delivering high performance levels. My Department carried out a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of the performance management and development system used in the Civil Service in 2010. The Evaluation of PMDS Survey 2010 identified a number of problems with how PMDS is currently operating.

My Department has been working with management and unions, in accordance with commitments in Croke Park to strengthen performance management in the Civil Service, and has agreed changes to strengthen performance management.

In 2011 changes were introduced aimed at improving the operation of PMDS. This involved streamlining the paperwork associated with PMDS primarily to create space for more discussion about performance between staff and managers. Critically we are increasing manager accountability for managing performance by giving a low rating to managers who do not manage the performance of their staff proactively i.e. a manager who has not been managing their staff (including the completion of PMDS for their staff) should not get a rating above 2. My Department alongside management of the Civil Service and unions is now engaged in a process of identifying ways to improve more fundamental problems with PMDS. The Evaluation of PMDSSurvey 2010 highlighted that one of the main underlying problems with PMDS is a perceived lack of fairness and consistency in the application of the system. In this regard, my Department is currently negotiating with the unions on further changes to PMDS aimed at improving fairness and consistency and the operation of PMDS from both a management and a staff perspective.

The ultimate aim of any changes to PMDS is to ensure that the PMDS system itself will support the improvement of individual and organisational performance across the Civil Service and that it is applied in a more fair and consistent manner.