From top: Linda Doyle, Provost of Trinity College Dublin; Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan, and Robert Watt, Secretary General at the Department of Health
This morning/afternoon.
Via Independent.ie:
“Under the proposed agreement, the Department of Health commits to provide for the secondment of Dr Tony Holohan who will continue to receive a salary at his existing level (i.e. salary, terms and conditions equivalent to the position of Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health) on the date of signing of the agreement including any improvements, awards or regrading that may apply to the position of Chief Medical Officer over the duration of the secondment.
“It would make an annual ring-fenced allocation of €2m for the duration of the secondment, to be administered through the Health Research Board, a body under the aegis of the Department of Health, to support the development and activities of an interinstitutional collaboration led by Dr Holohan from his position in Trinity College Dublin.”
A letter from Secretary General Robert Watt to Trinity College Provost Linda Doyle two weeks before Tony Holohan’s TCD role was announced.
Um.
The Health Research Board, meanwhile, said it had no knowledge of such arrangement to pay Dr Holohan.
Anyone?
(Watt’s the Story) Morning Glory?
They really shafted holohan
Anyway he will just have to live on his 150 grand a year pension plus a hundred and forty hundred grand lump sum tax free and the balance taxed
I’m free to do Wattever I
Wattever I choose and I’ll break the rules if I want
What does Robert Watt have on the politicians? How is he able to get away with so much? It’s not as if he’s indispensable.
The civil service is untouchable – elected officials cannot sack them. So for people at the top of the ladder, they are their own boss. Except unlike being head of a business, as head of a civil department you play with someone elses money
But that’s not true. Civil servants who have displeased have been siloed. It’s easier to silo a civil servant than to get rid of a powerful but useless CEO.
I can imagine his department
Where is watt
Silence
Where is watt
I do not know what’s watt or If watts around
Watt watt
Does this letter make a liar of some politician or other? They won’t like that.
I don’t know what Watt has on the pols, but this latest episode, where he seems to have been giving away public money for no clear worthwhile reason will leave a bad taste in many people’s mouths.
Add this little straw to the housing crisis, now aggravated by thousands of refugees being housed ahead of people who have spent years on the housing list. The camel’s back must be very close indeed to breaking.
To me this really does feel like the end of an era.
anyone who works in a government job knows that the majority of people they work with could quit in the morning and never be replaced and it wouldnt make the slightest difference. every government building is stacked to the roof with useless twits who were gifted a plum job as a favour. It’s how government operates. thats why when things like this happen, we get people in charge telling us “this is normal”. But what they don’t understand, its that kind of normal that we are sick of and don’t want anymore.
2 million over 10 years is now 2 million a year.
I’ve done a secondment in my job. Went for a while came back and the Irish firm paid my wages as if I was still working there. Very common thing. I’d have no problem with the whole thing if what he was doing was an actual secondment but it wasn’t. He said he wasn’t going back so not a secondment then. Just a handy number rather than retiring. Jobs for the boys.