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Medical Director Dr. Tony Holohan said Sunday’s NPHET findings and recommendations required “an early, serious and confidential discussion.”
“That didn’t happen,” he said.
“The content was leaked to the media and the person responsible for that leak does not share our goal of dealing with the disease.
Dr. Holohan said NPHET will continue to make its findings and findings available to the Minister of Health in the “usual way.”
“We hope to get back to work.”
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said that he was “really unhappy” about what happened Sunday night when NPHET recommended that the entire country should move to Level 5 virus restrictions, but he had spoken to Medical Director Tony Holohan last night and both men “are on the same team.”
Mr. Varadkar was answering a question at the launch of the Climate Action Bill this afternoon.
He was asked about his comments earlier this week when he said that the recommendation of the National Public Health Emergency Team to move to Level 5 “had not been well thought out and there had been no prior consultation.”
In an interview on RTÉ’s Claire Byrne Live, Mr Varadkar said that what happened was not good for the Government, NPHET or the Irish people and said it “came out of nowhere”.
When asked about his comments this week about NPHET, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar says he was ‘really unhappy’ about what happened Sunday night, but that he spoke with medical director Dr. Tony Holohan last night. and both men are ‘on the same team’ | Read more: https://t.co/6efMFrL4ZG pic.twitter.com/mWfsXHLCGu
– RTÉ News (@rtenews) October 7, 2020
Earlier, Taoiseach Micheál Martin also paid tribute to Dr. Holohan, saying that he met him this morning and that they had a “good meeting”.
Martin said they “share a determination” to address Covid-19.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin says he met with Medical Director Tony Holohan this morning and they had a “good discussion”, adding “I pay tribute to his commitment to the country” | https://t.co/F817ZTGkOp pic.twitter.com/LcQBpQlJ44
– RTÉ News (@rtenews) October 7, 2020
There was criticism of Mr. Varadkar’s comments about NPHET and Dr. Holohan on Monday.
Varadkar’s comments followed NPHET’s recommendation on Sunday to put the country under Level 5 restrictions, however the Government decided to move to Level 3 instead.
During today’s briefing, Dr. Holohan’s first since returning from a period of leave, the medical director said he was “deeply indebted” to the deputy medical director, Dr. Ronan Glynn, and his family “for the work he has done and that his family has supported him in doing it. “
“This allowed me to be in a position to spend time with my family and it will not be forgotten.”
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