The most senior Irish civil servant said neither he nor the Taoiseach were closely involved in the botched appointment of the Chief Medical Officer to a professor role.
Secretary General in the Department of the Taoiseach Martin Fraser was quizzed by politicians during an appearance at the Oireachtas Finance Committee, which is seeking answers over the botched appointment of Dr Tony Holohan to a role in Trinity College Dublin.
Dr Holohan decided against taking up a proposed secondment to Trinity College Dublin after a dispute over the transparency of the process that would have seen the state pay his annual salary of €187,000 through competitive research funding, administered by the Health Research Board.
