ALARM AT THE FLIGHT FROM HEALTH
Donnelly faces renewed pressure as a third top health official quits
THERE are growing concerns over Health Minister Stephen Donnelly’s grip on his department following the resignation of deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ronan Glynn.
He is the third top-level official to walk away from the department in a matter of weeks, following Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan’s retirement which is set for July 1.
Dr Glynn’s departure – to consultancy group EY – coming so quickly after Dr Holohan’s exit has been called ‘extremely damaging’, while a member of the
Oireachtas health committee has called for a cooling-off period for civil servants before they join the private sector.
‘The timing is not good for Donnelly and [Health secretary general Robert] Watt, that is for sure,’ a Cabinet source told the Mail last night. ‘We have two major vacancies to fill. It depends on the field of applications I suppose, the quality we get. But that level of departure – never mind two at virtually the same time – is extremely damaging.’
The opposition were quick to seize on Dr Glynn’s departure, with Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall stating that the move raises questions for Mr Donnelly. She said: ‘Questions must now be asked of the Health Minister about the departure of the two most senior people tasked with leading the public health response to Covid-19.
‘The Department of Health is chiefly to blame for Dr Tony Holohan’s proposed secondment to Trinity College being abandoned. Is that controversy also at the root of Dr Glynn’s decision to leave the public service?
‘The loss of knowledge and expertise, both medics had built up leading the State’s pandemic response, is clearly a huge loss to the public service.’
Fine Gael TD Bernard Durkan, who is a member of the Oireachtas health committee said a review of staff losses must run from high office holders down through all ranks within the health service.
‘There needs to be a thorough investigation into why people don’t want to work in the public health sector at all levels,’ Mr Durkan told the Irish Daily Mail.
‘It goes down to the nurses, consultants, junior doctors. There has to be a recognition of this.’
He said that Mr Donnelly must meet with his secretary general Mr Watt, over the brain drain.
‘This has come up again and again… they want to work anywhere else except for here,’ Mr Durkan added.
A Cabinet minister defended Mr Donnelly, telling the Mail that there is ‘no indication that there was any particular friction between Ronan and Stephen’.
But they added: ‘I am not aware whether any efforts were made to ask Ronan to delay his departure. Certainly there was an expectation that he would step into Tony’s [Holohan] shoes. This is a blow that he does not need.’
Another recent resignation is that of chief operations officer with the HSE, Anne O’Connor, who is set to leave in June to join VHI. Last year Sláintecare executive director and Department of Health assistant secretary, Laura Magahy, and chairman of the Sláintecare Implementation Advisory Committee, Tom Keane, quit their roles. The pair cited resistance to implementing the major health reform.
Dr Glynn’s resignation, which takes effect from the end of this month, comes just weeks after the controversial resignation of Dr Holohan. His appointment as professor of public health leadership and strategy at Trinity College collapsed after it emerged the Department of Health would continue to pay his €187,000 salary as part of a secondment that would cost €2million a year.
Mr Donnelly was previously blindsided by the details of Dr Holohan’s secondment. This is despite his secretary general Mr Watt orchestrating the move prior to funding being finalised.
The move was subsequently the subject of questioning by the Oireachtas health committee.
Dr Glynn’s exit has led to Oireachtas health committee members seeking a review of staffing agreements. Fianna Fáil TD for Dublin South West John Lahart highlighted the different rules for public servants and politicians.
‘Dr Glynn will be a hugely valuable asset for EY, while an elected public representative couldn’t do it [leave to the private sector] without a year’s cooling-off period I want to thank him for his Trojan work,’ he said.
EY were employed by the Department of Health to assist with key elements of its response to the Covid-19 pandemic. One former Government minister told this newspaper that Dr Glynn’s departure ‘looks terrible for Donnelly, but really it shows that he isn’t running the department, but that’s been the same for any minister in a department with Watt.’
There are currently four deputy Chief Medical Officers in the Department of Health, including Dr Glynn. They are Dr Desmond Hickey, Dr Eibhlin Connolly and Dr Colette Bonner. There were six deputy CMOs at one point during the pandemic.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar confirmed yesterday that both the Chief Medical Officer and deputy Chief Medical Officer roles will be advertised.
Sources previously told the Irish Daily Mail that Dr Holohan’s role would be filled through the Top Level Appointments Committee (TLAC) system.
‘These are very much personal decisions after a number of very busy, very intense years,’ the Tánaiste told RTÉ’s News at One. ‘They’ve decided to move on. We respect that and wish them the best in the new roles.
‘Obviously, these positions will be now advertised and it’ll be open to other public health doctors or, indeed, other people appropriately qualified to apply for the jobs.’ Fine Gael senator Martin
‘Needs a thorough investigation’ ‘There has to be learnings from this’
Conway, who also sits on the health committee, was another who raised concerns about high profile departures from public health.
‘Ronan Glynn is a significant loss to the public sector and it’s regrettable that it happened on the back of Anne O’Connor and Tony Holohan leaving too,’ Mr Conway told the Mail.
‘We’re going to have to look at ways of retaining that knowledge within the public sector. There has to be learnings from this and we’re still not out of the pandemic. I think there has to be a review of how and why we’re losing such expertise at such a rapid rate out of the public service. And the recommendations of that review need to be published.’
In a statement last night, Minister Donnelly thanked Dr Glynn for his ‘unwavering dedication during his time in the department’.
‘I wish Ronan all the best in the next chapter of his career,’ he said. ‘His knowledge and advice was vital in our national response.
‘He always showed tremendous commitment to protecting public health.’