Underperforming utility staff will still get bonus

Irish Water workers who underperform will be rewarded with bonuses, it has emerged.

Staff members judged to “need to improve” are entitled to increased pay, while those found to be doing just the standard of work expected of them get bonuses of up to 14%.

Senior staff at the utility and its parent company Bord Gáis, renamed Ervia, are in line for annual bonuses of up to 19%, RTÉ has revealed.

Even if those at management level are deemed to “need to improve” at their annual performance review, they can expect an extra 9% payment to top up their wages above €90,000.

Staff who “need improvement” and are earning €70,000-plus are entitled to a 4% top-up, and lower grades with wages up to the mid-€40,000 level can expect a 1.5% bonus.

The only workers beneath the level of CEO and director who are not entitled to a bonus are those who are found to have failed to achieve expectations.

It is the same “reward” model operated at Ervia, but because Irish Water is a new entity, no such bonuses have yet been paid out.

Those at the top will get the biggest bonuses under the scheme, with senior managers who merely meet expectations in line for a 14% boost to wages, middle-ranking workers getting 6.5%, and, for lower grades who do their job as expected, it is 2.75%.

Top brass just below the CEO and director level can expect bonuses of 17% if they “consistently exceed expectations”, or 19% if they “far exceed expectations” in the eyes of the publicly funded utility.

Fianna Fáil leader Michael Martin said he was “appalled” by the bonus culture at Irish Water and warned that the revelations would anger struggling families who will have to pay for water from January.

“The Government needs to intervene here and say bonuses cannot be paid to employees of Irish Water,” Mr Martin said.

Richard Bruton, the enterprise minister, tried to distance himself from the furore by saying the Government did not control pay levels in such firms below director and CEO levels.

“No one is pretending it is easy for people to have to shoulder a new charge,” Mr Bruton told RTÉ. “Most people understand why this is being done.”

Ervia have said that the performance awards are not like standard bonus schemes, but form part of total salary.

The company said the initiative led to average pay reduced by 2.1% in 2012-13 in the then Bord Gáis.

“The performance-related award is dependent on overall company performance and individual performance” an Ervia spokesperson told RTÉ.