Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Watt, is it not true that the decision to allocate up to €20 million from the Health Research Board was not based on any real proposal or costings? The secondment did not meet the criteria or adhere to it being time limited, ranging from six months to five years. Instead, it could have potentially, as the Secretary General said himself, have extended to ten years. This means we are talking about a sum of €20 million.

The real issue is that the Minister for Health and the then Department of Public Expenditure and Reform were side-stepped in the allocation of the money. That experienced civil servants have something to offer our third level education institutions is not in question here. Tony Holohan, as the CMO during the pandemic, had a unique insight. What is in question, and has ultimately led to Mr. Holohan not taking the position in Trinity, is the manner in which the secondment was handled. The issue is that tens of millions of euro of public money seem to have been treated as if they were a gift that could simply be handed out by a senior official without adherence to proper procedures. My understanding of Circular 27/2021 is that the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform must provide clearance for any secondment. Is that Mr. Watt's understanding of the secondment procedure?