€4.7m in bonuses paid to civil and public servants

BONUS and performance payments of almost €5 million were paid to civil and public servants last year.

Figures compiled by the Irish Examiner show that the extra pay ranged from an average of less than €100 per recipient in the Central Statistics Office to a €16,000 performance-related award to Public Appointments Service (PAS) chief executive Bryan Andrews.

PAS said the payment related to 2007 and was sanctioned by the Department of Finance under a scheme open to civil servants at assistant secretary general or equivalent grades.

The payments were outlined in the recent Audited Appropriation Accounts for 2008 published by taxpayers’ watchdog, Comptroller & Auditor General (C&AG) John Buckley.

Most government departments and public offices made the payments last year in relation to 2007. Almost 80% of the €4.74m bill was classed under schemes for performance allowed under administrative budget agreements.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) had the biggest performance payments bill of €1.73m. The HSE said yesterday €1.5m was paid to 128 staff last year in relation to 2007. Eligible personnel included the chief executive Professor Brendan Drumm, national directors, national assistant directors and hospital network managers, but the HSE could not provide answers yesterday on the range of amounts paid or the grades of those who received them.

The Department of Defence made payments averaging €11,445 to 11 military officers and €22,000 was shared by two civil servants, totalling €147,000.

The office of the C&AG made performance-related awards of €41,628 to either two or three directors&.

In the Department of Finance, one civil servant was paid €7,500 for exceptional performance, out of a total bonus payout of almost €75,000 to 211 individuals and nine group awards.

A bill of more than €450,000 accrued by the Revenue Commissioners included individual payments of up to €4,000 to more than 260 staff.

The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism paid €9,350 to staff up to principal officer grade under a scheme for recognition of exceptional performance.

There were performance-related awards averaging more than €3,500 each to 217 officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs, at a total cost of €764,625.

The Department of Agriculture and Food’s merit award payments of almost €700,000 were made to 586 individuals and 269 groups of staff, but a range of amounts was not available.

The Department of Social and Family Affairs made merit awards totalling €117,195 to an unknown number of staff in 2008.

The Department of Education said 48 individuals who received €1,000 each in respect of 2007 included three assistant principal officers, 20 executive or higher executive officers, 11 clerical officers and three school inspectors.