Sinn Féin spokesperson on Health, David Cullinane TD, has said that the Health Minister and the Secretary General of his Department have serious questions to answer around the processes involved in the Chief Medical Officer being appointed to a post at Trinity College Dublin.

His comments follow an announcement by Dr Tony Holohan that he will no longer take up his planned new position at Trinity College.

Speaking this afternoon, Teachta Cullinane said:

“The announcement by Dr Holohan that he will no longer take up this position at Trinity College is not surprising given the ongoing concerns around this post. It is disappointing that this position, which was a good news story, has become overshadowed by concerns of a lack of transparency around the nature of the position and how it is funded.

“Serious questions for the Minister for Health and his Department Officials remain around how this apparent ‘secondment’ was handled, including the funding of this position.

“The extent to which it appears senior civil servants may have been operating outside of established procedures is shocking. This has been exacerbated by a lack of leadership from the government. 

“Many questions around this controversy remain unanswered. The Secretary General and the Minister for Health must be upfront and transparent about how these circumstances came about.

“I am concerned that this appointment process follows on the heels of many other recent scandals regarding the appointment of figures to senior, publicly funded positions. It is vital that people can have confidence that there is transparency and due process around how public money is spent. This cannot be allowed to continue.”