FORMER CHIEF MEDICAL Officer Dr Tony Holohan has been appointed to the Irish Hospice Foundation’s board of non-executive directors. 

Dr Holohan left his position as Chief Medical Officer in July of this year after 14 years in the role. 

Speaking of the appointment to the board, he said: “This is an important time for the foundation and the healthcare sectors that they operate in. I’m looking forward to helping shape what IHF do to support those in end-of-life and bereavement care.” 

The former CMO had earlier this year intended to take up a position at Trinity College Dublin as a Professor of Public Health Strategy and Leadership but ultimately stepped back from it following controversy over its terms. 

The professorship would have been an “open-ended secondment” funded by the Department of Health and continuing the terms of his former contract, which was understood to bring a salary of around €187,000 per year.

The Taoiseach was among politicians to raise concerns, saying that the secondment should be paused to allow for greater transparency.

Dr Holohan decided against proceeding with the Trinity role, saying he did “not wish to see the controversy” continue.

“In particular, I wish to avoid any further unnecessary distraction that this has caused to our senior politicians and civil servants,” he said at the time.

“My strong belief is that this was a significant opportunity to work with the university sector to develop much-needed public health capacity and leadership for the future.”

It was then announced in July that Dr Holohan was to take up a new role as a professor at UCD in place of his abandoned appointment at Trinity.

A competition for a permanent replacement for Dr Holohan as chief medical officer is ongoing, with public health consultant Professor Breda Smyth serving as interim CMO.

With reporting by Lauren Boland