The Minister for Finance has confirmed that six staff at the NTMA, the National Treasury Management Agency, shared bonus payments of €43,000 last year.

The payments are 31 per cent down on the €62,610 paid out in bonuses to five staff in 2011 and a dramatic reduction on the €1.9 mil- lion shared by 258 staff in 2010.

It is understood that none of the six staff who received bonuses last year works at the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), which operates under the NTMA umbrella.

Michael Noonan also confirmed that 1,088 employees and four groups of staff at the Revenue shared €165,077 in “exceptional performance awards” in 2012.

In a written Dáil response to Independent TD Thomas Pringle, the Minister confirmed that 59 staff at the NTMA received additional payments of €140,500. This followed additional payments of €170,364 paid out to 74 employees in 2011.

“These payments were to employees on lower salaries who contributed significant additional work hours,” Mr Noonan said. “The NTMA does not have formal overtime payment arrangements in place for staff.”