Dr. Tony Holohan:

I thank the Deputy. Obviously, I would prefer if it did not happen and had not happened that way. That is clear. I would prefer to be in a situation in relation to where this has ended up. I will let others judge the impact of anything I have done over the course of the previous 15 years. It does not take from any of that, in my view. I would take the opportunity to say the things we have done in as a country in relation to the pandemic have not been things I have singularly done. I have been visible in ways that many people have not been, but there has been enormous effort and I could start in the Department and go all the way from there to the front line of the health services. Right across the board, people visible and others less visible have played a significant role in helping to support the country's response to the pandemic. This is not credit that I either wish to or seek to take entirely unto myself.

The Deputy mentioned open-ended. I did have the opportunity when I spoke to the committee the last day to make clear that from my point of view that was important. The reason it was important was because if I was to say I was stepping back for a five-year period, as some have suggested, because that is the usual period of time for Department to Department secondments, it would create a doubt and uncertainty over the potential tenure of any successor of mine. It would probably fetter the competition or likely make the competition for a successor less attractive. Fewer people would apply and the possibility of me returning would arise for person who was successful. I wanted to make clear, therefore, and this is the commitment I made to the Department out of respect for the role and the potential appointment of a successor, whoever that would be, that I did not have an intention in seeking to come back as CMO, even if in the secondment terms it meant that, strictly speaking, if I wished, I could come back at some point in some other role. I wanted to be clear so that the ground could be left clear for another individual to decide to apply for the job and know he or she would have a full and clear mandate in doing that job in the same way as I had. I thought that was important for the role. That is the reason the period of time was potentially longer than five years.