Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 4 May 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health

Proposed Appointment of Chief Medical Officer to a Role at a Higher Education Institution: Discussion

Photo of John LahartJohn Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There was one aspect to the proposal that seemed to imply that the CMO, had it gone through, could also avail of services of work in the private sector. That would have differed from the arrangement for Secretaries General. That may be a question that Dr. Holohan can come back on.

In terms of learnings, it has been said that any reasonable person looking at this objectively would have seen this as a bit more than a personnel issue, that it was a strategic type decision dealing with a person, to use an American football analogy, of quarter-back stature. This was not just an ordinary civil or public servant, but a person who is held in very high esteem. The books are giving us very colourful background narratives of the different and fraught nature of relationships political and administrative, but they arise in the type of crisis that we were going through. Mr. Watt referred to the programme for Government. The programme for Government at public health level states that we will maintain leadership at the highest level with a Cabinet Committee on Health chaired by the Taoiseach giving overall strategic direction. This is the first Government to establish a department of research and innovation, which illustrates the commitment of the Government to that piece.

I ask the CMO to answer my question on the private sector pay piece. Does that differ from a normal personnel decision? The Cabinet Committee on Health, which is chaired by the Taoiseach, was to be seen to be in charge of overall strategic health direction. On the communications piece directly, were there casual or informal conversations between the CMO and Ministers or the Taoiseach saying, for example, "we are looking at this, investigating this, we have brought it this far and it is going to come to you guys at some stage for formal approva"l?

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