Taoiseach admits lessons must be learned from Dr Holohan appointment controversy

Lessons will have to be learned from way the Dr Tony Holohan appointment to Trinity College was handled, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said. 

He accepted "there should have been transparency from the outset".

Speaking on RTÉ, the Taoiseach said it was his is understanding that the role would have been funded multi-annually from exchequer funding into the Department of Health. 

The appointment was mired in controversy after it emerged that his salary would continue to be paid by the Department of Health during the secondment. 

The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) issued a statement on Saturday announcing he would not be taking up the position, and would be retiring during the summer. 

He announced that he had decided not to proceed with his secondment as Professor of Public Health Leadership and Strategy, Trinity College Dublin.

Instead, he confirmed that he will retire as CMO with effect from 1 July to allow the Department of Health sufficient time to advance the process of appointing his successor.

"I do not wish to see the controversy of the last few days continuing. In particular, I wish to avoid any further unnecessary distraction that this has caused to our senior politicians and civil servants.

"My strong belief is that this was a significant opportunity to work with the university sector to develop much needed public health capacity and leadership for the future. In this regard, I would like to thank Trinity College and the Provost for their foresight and support in establishing this role.

"Following my departure, I look forward to sharing my knowledge and expertise outside of the public service," Dr Holohan's statement read. 

Labour health spokesperson Duncan Smith criticised the leadership of the health service for their role in placing the CMO at the centre of a very avoidable controversy.

Deputy Smith said: “This whole fiasco points to a clear and deep dysfunctionality at the top of our health service. It isn’t the first time Government ministers have found themselves in this position and it won’t be the last unless serious lessons are learnt.

"The announcement from Dr Holohan is an attempt to bring an end to a very avoidable controversy. However, the culture at the top of our health service shows a lack of real transparency and has turned what could have been a positive move for Ireland into another very regrettable episode.

“We had an opportunity to develop a real partnership between our health service and academia to drive a project which would develop real learnings from our pandemic experience and lead future responses. Dr Holohan was uniquely placed to play a central role in such a project. 

"If this appointment was made properly and openly, I believe the public would have supported this important work.  Instead, we got no detail of what was being planned with this research, there was no transparency over the process of appointing Dr Holohan and it seems the Minister was kept out of the loop. That is unacceptable.

“There must be real scrutiny over how our senior civil servant leaders in our health service are operating and ultimately held to account. Pay, transparency and a lack of trust have all been negative hallmarks over recent months. Public confidence in the decision making at the top of our health service is heading to an all-time low. This needs to change and change immediately," Deputy Smith said.