ALMOST every civil servant in Ireland received a pay increase this year following performance assessment reviews carried out by their managers.

Out of 19,014 assessments supplied to The Sunday Times, just 18, or 0.094% of the total, were rated as “unacceptable”.

These were the only government employees denied an annual pay rise worth between €1,000 and €3,000 depending on a person’s position within the civil service and years of service.

Three employees each from Revenue, the Department of Defence and the Courts Service were deemed to fall into this category. Nine government departments, including Health and Finance, believed that none of their staff deserved to be ranked in the lowest category.

The Performance Management and Development System (PMDS) rates civil servants in five grades, with only the lowest denied an annual pay increment. It was introduced following the Sustaining Progress deal of 2003-2005.

The scheme was designed to increase productivity in the public service. Civil service unions voted against PMDS in 2006, saying it would be used to withhold pay rises gained through benchmarking.

The figures released to The Sunday Times show they had nothing to worry about.

Just 1.5% of those rated merited the second lowest ranking which meant they needed to improve their performance. These 285 civil servants still received their annual increment but are denied the opportunity to apply for promotion to a higher grade for one year.

More than 98% of those assessed were graded between three and five. Grade three means the employee has met all requirements and is eligible for promotion. Just under 40% of all civil servants were marked in this category, while 50% were graded as a four, meaning they exceeded requirements.

A total of 1,622 people, or 8.5%, received the highest grade, signifying their work throughout the year was “outstanding”.

The Department of the Taoiseach had the highest percentage of staff, 40%, in this top category. In comparison, Met Eireann, the national meteorological service, rated just two people, or 1% of staff, in the outstanding category.

Mark Fielding, chief executive of the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) who has demanded large-scale public sector redundancies, said PMDS was a “farce” because it rewarded almost everyone.

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