THE CHIEF MEDICAL Officer has accepted the Freedom of the City of Dublin on behalf of all healthcare workers to recognise their efforts during the pandemic.

Lord Mayor of Dublin Hazel Chu conferred the Freedom of the City to Dr Tony Holohan today at a private ceremony.

Dr Holohan signed the Roll of Honorary Freedom in the Mansion House, where he became the 83rd person to receive the accolade.

Dublin City Council voted in July last year to confer the Freedom on Dr Holohan and Ireland’s healthcare workers to acknowledge their work during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Lord Mayor said that “in conferring on Dr Holohan, and through him our healthcare workers, the Honorary Freedom of the City of Dublin, we recognise the immense effort and tireless work carried out by all our healthcare staff”.

“We want to, through this award, say a big thank you for their efforts and sacrifices,” Chu said.

“It has been an extremely difficult 16 months and we owe our public health workers and frontline staff an enormous debt,” she said.

Dr Holohan’s family were present at the ceremony.

Former recipients include Father Peter McVerry, Bono, John F. Kennedy, and Mother Teresa.

Earlier today, Dr Holohan appeared before an Oireachtas committee alongside other senior members of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) to face questions on rapid antigen testing.

He said that if more evidence, as it is uncovered, supports rapid testing, NPHET is “more than willing” to back its further use.

“Ultimately, however, based on knowledge to date, the safest way to reopen society, including to international travel, will be to continue to control disease incidence through a range of public health measures which are continuously reviewed, along with progressing the national vaccination programme to ensure as many people as possible within the population are protected through immunisation,” he said.