Dr Tony Holohan will retire from his role as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) today.
He was due to begin a secondment at Trinity College Dublin, but that was scrapped after a controversy over the payment arrangement.
Instead, Dr Holohan, who has family in both Carlow and Kilkenny, will completely step down today as CMO, which has a salary of €187,000 a year.
Junior Health Minister, Frank Feighan, says he had an excellent 14-year term.