The name of the person being appointed to run the health service under the Government's health service reform programme will be announced this week, the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, confirmed yesterday, writes Eithne Donnellan, Health Correspondent.
The person expected to take up the job is Irish-born doctor, Prof Aidan Halligan, who is currently deputy chief medical officer in the UK.
His appointment may be confirmed as early as today. The Cabinet, it is understood, was informed yesterday.
Asked about the impending appointment when he attended the launch of a new website for the Irish Hospice Foundation in Dublin yesterday, Mr Martin said he would be in a position to talk about the appointment "some time this week".
Asked if he would be in a position to say who had been appointed at that stage, he replied: "Yes".
For the last few months the Government has been engaged in a process to recruit a chief executive for the new Health Service Executive (HSE), which will take over the day-to-day running of the health service from the Department of Health, leaving the Department to concentrate on policy matters.
Officials from the Department of Health have been in negotiation with Prof Halligan for a number of weeks.
He will be the highest paid official in the health service, with an estimated salary of €250,000 per annum. He will be responsible for the health service's 96,000 staff and its €10 billion annual budget.
Prof Halligan graduated from Trinity College, Dublin in 1984 and is from Templeogue, Dublin.