Appointments to Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA)

The Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD has extended the terms for both Dr Jim Kiely and Martin Higgins as members of the Health Information and Quality Authority with effect from 26 February 2026 until 25 February 2028.

Dr Jim Kiely

Dr Jim Kiely is a graduate of UCD Medical School. He was awarded his postgraduate specialist qualification in Public Health by the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and holds an MBA from the University of Limerick. Jim spent his professional career in various roles in the public health service most notably in the Department of Health where he spent 11 years as Chief Medical Officer (CMO). He also spent a period of time as Health Policy Adviser with the Irish Aid health programme.

As CMO, Jim led the Department of Health’s delegation to the World Health Assembly on many occasions and was a member of, and chaired, the Standing Committee of the WHO Regional Office in Copenhagen. He also represented the Department at EU and Council of Europe health fora. He is former Vice Chair of the Board of Tallaght University Hospital where he served on and chaired a number of the Boards committees.

Dr Kiely has been on the Board of HIQA since 2017 where he has served on a number of the Board committees and currently chairs the Standards, Information, Research and Technology Committee.

Martin Higgins

Martin Higgins is Deputy Chair of the all-island Institute of Public Health, and a council member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland.

Previously, he was Chief Executive of Safefood, one of the cross-border bodies set up under the Good Friday Agreement, for 14 years until his retirement. Prior to that, he worked in the Department of Health for many years specialising in finance, and later in public health regulation.

He is an experienced board member having served on the boards of the Irish Medicines Board, the health and social care professionals regulator Coru, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland and as board chair of the Food Safety Authority.

Martin has a keen interest in governance and currently chairs audit and risk committees (ARCs) of both the National Disability Authority and the Competition and Consumer Protection Authority and is former ARC chair of both COMREG, An Bord Pleanála and the Arts Council.

A professional accountant with additional qualifications in governance, regulation and health economics, Martin is member of the Institute of Directors and a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.