Alison O’Connor: Holohan debacle escalated over lack of transparency

Many of the details of Dr Tony Holohan's proposed role as professor of public health leadership and strategy at Trinity College Dublin remain murky.

Perhaps Dr Tony Holohan assumed it was the job of Mr Watt to fully inform the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly of what was afoot.

Too smart. No smart. That fella was always going to meet himself on the way back.

My West Cork roots are showing as I ponder the now-abandoned move of Tony Holohan to Trinity College. 

In this instance, there are actually two fellas involved and both have ended up meeting themselves on the way back — the aforementioned chief medical officer and the secretary general of the Department of Health, Robert Watt.

It is — as so many people have already said — such a pity that it came to this. We had a man who led us so ably through a pandemic, during a time of great personal tragedy. He deserved to be rewarded. Not only that, we would all have continued to benefit from his expertise, the way things were shaping up.

But there’s been many a slip ’twixt cup and lip in what has ended up being an absolute shambles. No one is happy with the outcome.

There were times during those long Covid days when we tuned into the Nphet briefing to hear what Dr Tony had to say — feeling scared and uncertain. He invariably delivered. There was a time when so many people would have given him their first-born out of gratitude.

A lot of time will have to pass before we can properly assess our handling of that time. Indeed, it is ongoing, but at this vantage point, and on the number of lives lost, we have done really well. It was not without its costs, economic and social, and every life lost is a tragedy. But Dr Holohan did very well by Ireland.

A mural showing Dr Tony Holohan by artist Niall O'Loughlin on Devitts Pub in Dublin. Picture: Leah Farrell/Rollingnews.ie

It’s not an easy thing to say, or something that’s said with any relish, but maybe as he contemplated his future he had begun to believe some of his own publicity.

Many of the details of this proposed role as professor of public health leadership and strategy at Trinity College Dublin remain murky. But we do know he intended to be on an open-ended secondment where he would continue to benefit each year from any financial improvements back in his public service job.

He has confirmed that he had no intention of returning to the department. Yet a concrete arrangement about how the new role was to be paid did not exist.

No matter the spin on it now, ultimately the plan did involve his salary of €187,000 being paid out of the public purse.

Perhaps he assumed it was the job of Mr Watt to fully inform the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, of what was afoot.

Secretary general at the Department of Health Robert Watt entering Kildare House before a meeting with the joint committee on Health to discuss the oversight of Sláintecare. Picture: Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie

Sure, the minister might have gotten himself a better briefing before he went on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland last week, when he was asked about the proposed move, or indeed his department might have thought about offering him one.

Now there’s a novel concept — a Government department actually briefing a minister before he goes on the national airwaves to discuss a matter the secretary general and chief medical officer have full detail on.

There are many factors to this sorry tale. It’s not news that civil servants are past masters at keeping from their political masters that which they believe they do not need to know. But the behaviour on this occasion beggars belief.

But take your pick when it comes to specific Department of Health dysfunctionality.

You have a minister who is just not really up to the job. 

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos

Add in a secretary general with such a high opinion of himself he’d probably consider the head of the World Health Organization as a natural progression from his current position.

However, from a quick bit of research it looks as if the salary for that global position comes in well under €238,000. Not quite pocket money, but a significant drop for a man whose salary is shortly set to top €300,000 with projected public sector pay increases. Mr Watt received an €81,000 pay rise when he was appointed on a permanent basis there in April last year.

Bear in the mind the Taoiseach — who along with ministers gifts 10% of his salary back to the State, receives just over €192,000. I wonder how it feels to earn over €100,000 more than your ultimate political boss, the leader of the country?

You might imagine that particular salary notoriety might have added a smidgin of caution to be applied to “sorting” this post for Tony.

If the position and its attendant arrangements — among other things preparing for pandemics of the future, God’s work without a doubt — was such a super idea, why not be more open about it?

Instead it was all hugger-mugger. It was — as I understand it — also presented as having all t’s crossed and i’s dotted at the time of the announcement.

In recent days, we’ve been introduced to the idea of the Health Research Board funding the position — still public money.

Mr Watt applied the mushroom style of management here, keeping the minister in the dark and feeding him you-know-what.

But if there is a reason to look to Taoiseach Micheál Martin in all of this it is that he appointed Mr Donnelly to this job in the first place and keeps him there now. It was also Mr Martin who pushed for the appointment of Mr Watt, believing he was the man to “sort” out the health services once and for all. Hoist by your own petard in both cases, Taoiseach.

This column recently addressed the sorry situation of how we are now deep in “pretend” Sláintecare territory with control for what was to be extraordinary reform of our health services wrestled back within the system. Robert Watt had just made an appearance before the Oireachtas health committee and did little to hide his disdain for his questioners — our national politicians.

Perhaps he’ll surprise us all and achieve the impossible with our health service. But on the evidence of his attitude, approach, and blatant “because I’m worth it” personal motto, you’d have to have your doubts about the chances of success.

Tony Holohan was no innocent abroad here either. He knows how things work. He was correct to say this would have been a significant opportunity to work with the university sector to develop much-needed public health capacity and leadership for the future.

The kicker line in his short statement, issued on Saturday, came at the end.

Following my departure, I look forward to sharing my knowledge and expertise outside of the public service.”

He was pointing out what a loss he would be to us. This is correct. But to those who say he can now earn far more in the private sector, you’d wonder how you’d significantly boost that €187,000 salary — apart from going on the lucrative lecture circuit, which would have been possible anyway from a Trinity base.

And yet. He is a major loss. He will retire in July. It really is a pity it all ended up like this.

A little bit of transparency, a touch of humility and the courtesy of keeping those around you informed — not just vague details either — would have gone such a long way here.