The Health Department struggled to discover a candidate with the necessary qualifications for the role of Chief Medical Officer in the course of the interview procedure. Consequently, Prof Mary Horgan was named interim Chief Medical Officer (CMO) with no interview, due to an endorsement from the Health Minister Stephen Donnelly.
The position of CMO was previously held by Prof Breda Smyth, who stepped down merely 18 months into her tenure as the nation’s leading health advisory member. Prior to her official resignation, she expressed concern over the challenges that recruiting Deputy Chief Medical Officers posed on the department’s functioning.
The previous year, an invitation for interest in the vacant Deputy CMO roles within the Health Service Executive did not attract any applicants. Prof Smyth cautioned that this state of events was untenable and that the failure to fill in these roles was leading to clinical risk.
The Health Department responded to questions about the CMO post’s recruitment by stating that the hunt for the position, which was administered through the Public Appointments Service, was launched in March 2024 but didn’t yield any appropriately qualified prospects. It was noted that Prof Horgan was named interim CMO following the Health Minister’s suggestion as per section 7(1)(f) of the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004. This appointment was accepted by the Government on June 11th.
Furthermore, the Health Department disclosed that the hunt for a Deputy CMO is in progress. A significant number of high-ranking staff departed the department after the pandemic. Even though Covid-19 revealed shortcomings in Ireland’s pandemic readiness, several essential medical roles have remained vacant.
Prof Smyth assumed the acting CMO role at the Health Department in July 2022, succeeding Dr Tony Holohan, who held the post for 14 years. She was then given the permanent position in November 2022, although she left in May 2024 for a new role at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin.
In the early days of June, Professor Horgan was appointed the acting Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Since obtaining her medical qualification in 1995, she has been regarded as a specialist in infectious diseases, a title she earned at University College Dublin along with Mater Misericordiae Hospital.
Prior to serving Dublin, Prof Horgan was the Dean of the Medical School at University College Cork (UCC). She accomplished a historic first by becoming the first woman to preside over the Royal College of Physicians since its establishment in 1654, and was given the opportunity to serve a second term in 2020.
The responsibilities of the CMO include reporting to Robert Watt, the Department secretary general, and is a crucial part of the senior executive team, as indicated by the Department of Health. The income bracket for a CMO role fluctuates between €217,325 and €261,051, as detailed in the vacancy announcement published after Prof Smyth left his position.
The role of CMO is deemed crucial and influential, holding a key part in formulating the country’s policies and services. On another note, last year’s Deputy CMO job description emphasised the need for “sturdy processes to spot arising menaces in communicable and non-communicable diseases.”
The salary for the Deputy CMO was estimated between €113,684 to €139,142, as per the 2023 job advert. Nevertheless, the Department of Health recently disclosed that the Department of Public Expenditure consented to an amendment of the existing Deputy CMO salary scale, which is the one being applied to the current contest for the position.