Minister Donnelly announces the appointment of Professor Breda Smyth as interim Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health

The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has announced that Professor Breda Smyth will take up a role as interim Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health from 4 July, pending the completion of the competition to fill the role on a permanent basis.

Dr Tony Holohan will resign as CMO on 1 July after 14 years in the role.

Professor Smyth has extensive clinical experience and has specialised in public health for the last 16 years. She is currently Professor for Public Health Medicine in NUI Galway and Consultant in Public Health in HSE West.

Professor Smyth contributed significantly to Ireland's COVID-19 response having been a member of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), the Rapid Testing Expert Advisory Group; Chief Investigator on the multi-site study UniCoV study as well as her important duties as the Director of Public Health in HSE West. Prof Smyth was also a founding member of the COVID-19 - Irish Epidemiology Modelling Advisory Group (IEMAG).

Minister Donnelly said:

"While the open competition for the permanent filling of the crucial role of Chief Medical Officer has commenced, I am conscious of the need to have in place the required leadership at all times to continue to monitor and combat COVID-19 and other public health threats.

"Professor Smith has a unique skill set with the requisite mix of academic, policy and frontline experience having provided leadership, expert and professional guidance of Public Health nationally and in HSE West over the last number of years. She has contributed significantly to the national response to COVID-19 in her many roles throughout the management of the pandemic.

"Professor Smyth brings this considerable experience, excellent leadership ability and extensive public health skillset to the role and I very much look forward to working with her. I thank Professor Smyth for agreeing to fill the role on an interim basis until the completion of an open competition for a permanent CMO."

Professor Smyth said:

"I am excited to have the opportunity to work together with colleagues in the Department of Health, and across our health and social care service to build on the considerable work done, both before and during COVID-19, to promote and protect public health and the health and wellbeing of the population of Ireland.

"The pandemic has placed a spotlight on public health, and I look forward to the opportunity to advance the public health agenda through important, cross-government initiatives like Healthy Ireland and Sláintecare to improve the health and wellbeing of the entire population including marginalised groups and continuing to address inequities in health."

Professor Breda Smyth is being seconded to the department on a short-term basis.

An open competition for the permanent position of Chief Medical Officer has been advertised on www.publicjobs.ie.

Notes

Professor Breda Smyth MD, MPH, FFPHMI

Professor Smyth completed her primary degree in Medicine (MB, BCh, BAO) in University College Galway. She then continued her training in the Royal College of Physicians Ireland, undertook a Masters in Public Health in University College Dublin, a Medical Doctorate in NUI Galway and a post-doctoral fellowship in UCLA. Professor Smyth was conferred as a Member of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine of Ireland in 2005, and, in 2013, was made a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine in Ireland.

Professor Smyth is currently Personal Professor of Public Health Medicine in NUI Galway and a Consultant in Public Health in HSE West. She has extensive experience leading national programmes across the four domains of Public Health: Health Protection, Health and Health Service Intelligence, Health Service Improvement and Health Improvement.

Throughout the pandemic as Director of Public Health HSE West, Professor Smyth led the Department of Public Health HSE West as well as her significant national contribution as a member of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), the Rapid Testing Expert Advisory Group and as a founding member of the COVID-19 - Irish Epidemiology Modelling Advisory Group (IEMAG). She pursued her research as Chief Investigator on the multi-site study UniCoV exploring early warning systems for SARS Co-V-2 including rapid testing technologies in higher and further education sectors.

Prior to the pandemic she was a Senior Responsible Owner on the HSE Crowe Horwath Public Health Reform programme in 2019. She conceptualised and was the National Lead on the 'Planning for Health' project since its inception in 2015. This work has been integrated as part of the Health Budget Estimates process. Professor Smyth was the National Lead on the Health and Positive Ageing Project and she developed and published the 'Healthy and Positive Ageing for All; Research Strategy 2015 - 2019' in collaboration with the Department of Health in 2019. She was also the National Stroke Prevention Lead in the Stroke Clinical Programme 2010 -2014 leading the pilot opportunistic screening for atrial fibrillation. She continues her interest in stroke prevention through her research as National PI on the EU funded AFFECT EU study.

Professor Smyth has also undertaken extensive research including a Medial Doctorate on 'Mortality Inequalities in Ireland 2000 -2006' between 2007 - 2009 for which she received the Zachary Johnson Bronze Medal. She was also awarded a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the University of California, Los Angeles from 1998 - 2001.