PAC requests appointment of new Secretary-General at Health Department to be paused

The proposed salary for the full-time holder of the role is €292,000, some €81,000 more than other top-tier secretaries general are paid.

Robert Watt is currently carrying out the duties of the secretary general at the Department of Health on an interim basis. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins

The Dáil's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is to write to the Department of Public Expenditure asking it to freeze the appointment of the new Secretary-General of the Department of Health.

The committee wants a procedure for salaries in excess of pay caps to be formally codified before the competition is reopened. The proposed salary for the new full-time holder of the role is €292,000, €81,000 more than top-tier secretaries-general are paid.