Holohan says he welcomes the publication of the independent report into his controversial proposed Trinity secondment.
Former Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Tony Holohan should not have been “exclusively personally involved” in the negotiation of research funding linked to his proposed secondment as a professor at Trinity College Dublin, a report has found.
Last year, it was announced that Holohan would be stepping away from his position as CMO to take on a new role as Professor of Public Health Strategy and Leadership at Trinity. However, Holohan later decided not to proceed in the role after questions were raised about how the position came about and its salary arrangements.
Following the controversy, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly commissioned an independent report into the proposed secondment, which was published on Monday afternoon (17 April).
The report found that the “substantial” proposed funding commitment of €2 million a year until the retirement of Holohan “bypassed all of the accepted protocols for research funding and was linked atypically to one named individual”.
It also concluded the following:
- The proposed secondment of the Chief Medical Officer, to Trinity College Dublin and the associated research funding commitments should not have been linked together.
- The Chief Medical Officer should not have been exclusively personally involved in the negotiation of research funding linked to his possible secondment.
- The absence of any consultation with the HRB [Health Research Board], from the outset, on the proposed research funding element is a deficit as is the lack of detail on the governance over the proposed funding to Trinity College Dublin.
- The ‘commitment’ to Trinity College Dublin by the Department of Health of €2 million per year for research funding (to include University Departments of Public Health and others) and the subsequent declaration that this would be subject subsequently to competitive funding is unusual and outside the regular HRB processes.
A short statement regarding the Report published today. pic.twitter.com/R9FbuTM4jO
— Dr Tony Holohan (@DrTonyHolohan) April 17, 2023
In a statement released by Holohan after the publishing of the report, he said he welcomed its release, adding:
“When I sought to move from my role as CMO to a professorship in public health, it was at all times with the full knowledge and support of the Secretaries General at the Department of Health and the Department of Taoiseach.
“Formal engagement with universities on the proposal only happened after receiving support and approval from the Secretary General of the Department of Health.
“I regret that a valuable opportunity to benefit the future of Ireland’s public health has been lost but am gratified that the Report confirms that the engagement of both universities with the process was beyond reproach.”
Holohan also said that he hopes there will be “learnings” for the government departments involved and that he remains “passionately committed to improvement in public health”.
Main image via Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie
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