Watt denies committing funds for Holohan secondment without minister's approval

Secretary-general of the Department of Health Robert Watt declined to comment on whether he had overstepped his remit in sending a letter to the provost of Trinity, committing about €23m of funding over 10 years, along with the detail of the proposed secondment of Dr Tony Holohan. File picture: Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly appeared on national radio defending the secondment of Dr Tony Holohan without the knowledge that €2m of taxpayers' money had already been committed for his salary.

The secretary-general of the Department of Health Robert Watt and chief medical officer Dr Holohan appeared before the Oireachtas health committee on Wednesday, with Mr Watt defending his role in the now-abandoned appointment of the CMO to Trinity College.