Prof Breda Smyth has been appointed as interim chief medical officer (CMO) at the Department of Health.

Prof Smyth will take up the interim position on July 4 pending the completion of the competition to fill the role on a permanent basis.

This follows the resignation of the current CMO, Dr Tony Holohan, who leaves the job on July 1 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 is a consultant in public health in HSE West. 

She played a pivotal role in Ireland’s Covid-19 response having been a member of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) and the Rapid Testing Expert Advisory Group. She was also chief investigator on the multi-site UniCoV study and was a founding member of the Covid-19 Irish Epidemiology Modelling Advisory Group (IEMAG).

Announcing her interim appointment, the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, said that Prof Smyth has a “unique skill set with the requisite mix of academic, policy and frontline experience”.

“While the open competition for the permanent filling of the crucial role of CMO 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. 

“Prof Smyth brings 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 her for agreeing to fill the role on an interim basis until the completion of an open competition for a permanent CMO,” Minister Donnelly said.

Prof Smyth said she is excited 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,” she commented.

Prof Smyth is being seconded to the Department of Health on a short-term basis. 

An open competition for the permanent position of CMO has been advertised and can be viewed here.