Report on Holohan secondment
The Minister for Health will be presented with a report this evening into the controversy surrounding the appointment of chief medical officer Tony Holohan to a senior role at Trinity College Dublin.
Dr Holohan was due to take up the role of Professor of Public Health Strategy and Leadership. However, he announced his withdrawal from the plans on Saturday.
The job sparked controversy when it emerged that Dr Holohan would be on an open-ended secondment and that the role would be funded by the Department of Health.
The report on the appointment process, penned by secretary general of the Department of Health Robert Watt, is expected to say that Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly was aware of the proposed secondment of Dr Holohan – although the Minister said last week he was not aware of the details.
Hauliers protest in Dublin
A number of hauliers and truckers protesting over spiralling fuel costs have been fined for obstructing roads in the docklands area of Dublin.
The protest has caused disruption in the east of the city after demonstrators gathered from early Monday morning. The East Link toll bridge and East Wall Road was blocked with trucks and trailers. The usually busy roundabout outside the 3Arena was also blockaded, causing the closure of North Wall Quay. The entrance to Dublin Port and the Port Tunnel was heavily congested.
There were plans for slow-moving convoys of vehicles to travel along a number of motorways into Dublin city centre. However, the protest instead saw a lower-than-expected number of truckers take part.
Homophobic attack
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, musician Boy George and Irish Rugby have all issued statements of condemnation after a man suffered a homophobic attack in Dublin at the weekend.
Evan Somers, who plays rugby for the Emerald Warriors RFC, was attacked at around 3.30am on Dame Street on Sunday.
Mr Somers suffered a fractured eye socket, two ankle fractures, an ankle dislocation, and other minor injuries.
