Top health official to be replaced after Travers Report

The secretary general of the Department of Health is set to be replaced in the wake of the Travers Report into the illegal levying of nursing home fees on medical card holders.

The report is due to be made public later today and sources have indicated that Michael Kelly will be criticised for allegedly knowing about the illegality of the charges.

Mr Kelly's departure is expected to be announced following publication of the report.

The nursing home charges were halted late last year when the Attorney General warned that they were legally unsound.

Former Forfas official John Travers was subsequently asked to investigate how the charges were allowed to continue since 1976 and if any officials were aware of the illegality of the situation.