Memo on Holohan's move to Trinity does little to clear up confusion

The actions of Department of Health secretary general Robert Watt will remain under scrutiny, write Daniel McConnell, Elaine Loughlin, Paul Hosford, and Aoife Moore

 Secretary general at the Department of Health Robert Watt. Picture: Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie

THE 12-page memo from Robert Watt defending his role in the botched secondment arrangement of Tony Holohan to Trinity College Dublin (TCD) fails in its chief objective to vindicate his actions.

While he insists the powers of the Public Service Management Act 1997 stipulate that the administration of government departments is a matter for secretaries-general and he was within his rights to do what he did, his own political masters are not so sure.