Professor Mary Horgan has officially been assigned as the temporary Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at the Health Department. This appointment was confirmed by the Health Minister, Stephen Donnelly. The CMO role has remained unoccupied since Professor Breda Smyth stepped down after an 18-month term that ended in May.
Prof Horgan, who became a qualified medical professional in 1995, is currently a Professor of Infectious Diseases at University College Dublin besides her role at Mater Misericordiae Hospital. She served as the Dean of the Medical University at University College Cork (UCC) in the past. Prof Horgan made history by becoming the first woman to hold the presidential position at the Royal College of Physicians since its inception in 1654. She was re-elected for a second term in this position in 2020.
In her extensive career, Prof Horgan has played various important roles within the health sector and led the advisory group on rapid testing which advocated the broad application of these tests. During the Covid-19 outbreak, Prof Horgan was an integral part of the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet). As of November 2023, Mr Donnelly appointed Prof Horgan to spearhead the establishment of a novel agency tackling emerging health threats.
Post the official approval of Prof Horgan’s appointment, Mr Donnelly, highlighted that the CMO’s role is crucial in formulating health policy and legislation, ensuring patient safety, improving healthcare quality, and strategising public health support and developments. Praisng her career and her admirable role during the pandemic and with Nphet, he mentioned that Prof Horgan has consistently displayed the skills, experience, and formidable leadership required for the CMO role.
Expressing gratitude towards her for accepting the temporary role, he added that he looked forward to collaborating with her on reinforcing and boosting Ireland’s readiness to handle health threats and enhancing public health. Following her appointment, Prof Horgan expressed her gratitude and excitement towards her new role and looked forward to working with the Health Department to utilise her national and international healthcare experience to support the department’s mission of boosting health and well-being among the Irish people.
The department has experienced a significant departure of high-ranking staff following the end of the pandemic. Crucial health roles remain unoccupied, highlighting gaps in Ireland’s pandemic readiness that became apparent during the Covid-19 outbreak.
In July 2022, Prof Smyth was chosen as the temporary head medical officer for the Health Department, succeeding Dr Tony Holohan who had held the position for 14 years. By November the same year, her position was made permanent, only to step down in May 2024.
Interestingly, in the previous year, there were no takers when the health department advertised for candidates to express their interests for the deputy CMO posts, leaving them vacant within the Health Service Executive.
With an annual remuneration of €202,000, the chief medical officer is directly answerable to the department’s secretary general Robert Watt. As per the department’s description, the CMO is a vital part of the top-level management team.