James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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180. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his Department assesses productivity across all Government Departments; the methodology of how that is assessed, and areas where improvement has been identified; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18338/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is responsible for Employee Performance Management Policy across the Civil Service. There are three levels of performance management in operation within the Civil Service (i) Performance Management and Development process (PMDS), (ii) Senior Civil Servants Performance Review Process and (iii) the Secretaries General Performance Review Process.

The Performance Management and Development process (PMDS) supports employees up to and including Principal Officer level and managers in managing and improving individual performance, to enable current and future Civil Service reform. In a yearly cycle, there are generally three phases which are (i) Goal Setting, (ii) Mid-Year Review, and (iii) End of Year Review which are all managed by individual Departments/Offices. The End of Year Review includes a final performance evaluation.

The performance of Senior Civil Servants is reviewed annually using the performance review process for Senior Public Service which includes Assistant Secretaries and equivalent grades.

The Performance Review Group (PRG) was established in 2016 to oversee the Civil Service Secretary General Performance review process, which was a priority action of the Civil Service Renewal Plan 2014 (Action 12 – Design and implement a robust performance review process for Secretaries General). The group has three members including the Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach, the Secretary General of Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform and an external member. The Secretary General Performance Review process is designed to drive accountability, effectiveness and leadership excellence across Government Departments and is conducted over a 12-month period. It brings clarity to performance and development goals for Secretaries General and facilitates an effective feedback mechanism in relation to individual performance.