Robert Watt, the Secretary General at the Department of Health, is expected to tell TDs that he “regrets” that Dr Tony Holohan will no longer take up a new role at Trinity College.
Mr Watt and the Chief Medical Officer are set to face a grilling by TDs and Senators at the Dail’s Health Committee on Wednesday over Dr Holohan’ controversial move to the third level sector.
Mr Watt signed off on the now abandoned secondment, but Dr Holohan has decided to no longer take up the job after questions were raised over how the new role came about and the fact the Department of Health would continue to pay Dr Holohan’s €187,000 salary.
Read More: Top civil servant denies involvement in botched Dr Tony Holohan appointment to Trinity
In his opening remarks to the Committee, Mr Watt is expected to say he had initial discussions with the CMO in August 2021 regarding his future plans but due to the emergence of Omicron these talks were stopped as Dr Holohan was focusing on the public health response.
Mr Watt will say Dr Holohan raised with “some third level institutions, how the Department of Health could, in an innovative and responsive manner, strengthen the knowledge and practice of public health leadership.”
Mr Watt will say as part of these proposed arrangements, the Department of Health considered that the funding of Dr Holohan’s post was something that needed to be worked out, but that the Department would support the development of this innovative approach to progressing an important initiative through dedicated additional research funding.
“The letter of intent therefore provided for Dr Holohan’s salary to be paid, in time, as part of a wider fund which, it was envisaged, could be administered by the Health Research Board, with details to be agreed between all three parties, as per the well-established practice of funding of health research in the third level sector.
“As the Committee is aware, there are a number of well-recognised steps from the generation of an idea to the funding of a specific project or service that all Departments and Ministers must follow in order to allocate funds.
“It was clear to me that this proposal was in line with the Government’s commitment to investing in public health, as outlined in the Programme for Government.
“It is a matter of regret to me that, what I viewed as an important and innovative proposal for increasing our public health capacity in Ireland, is not now going ahead,” Mr Watt will tell the Committee.
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