Appointments to the Health Insurance Authority

Following a Public Appointments Service (PAS) campaign, the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, has appointed Patricia Byron as Chair (effective 01/07/2021 to 30/06/2026) and John Evans as member (effective 24/06/2021 to 23/06/2026) of the Health Insurance Authority:

Ms. Patricia Byron

Patricia Byron has worked as a senior executive in the Insurance and related financial services sector over many years. She was the first CEO of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB), an independent State body, established to reform a costly personal injury claims environment. Patricia was appointed as Chairperson of the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland where she led a reform programme, focusing on business transformation and effectiveness. When appointed as Chairperson of the Association of Chief Executives of State Bodies, she became actively involved in a number of public sector reform initiatives.

Patricia now sits on the Board of the Central Bank of Ireland Commission and the National Treatment Purchase Fund and chairs a number of public sector Audit committees, including the Department of Finance.

Patricia is a graduate of UCD, a Chartered Insurer and a Past President of the Insurance Institute.

Dr. John Evans

Dr. John Evans has over 20 years’ experience in the area of competition and regulation. He is currently the Director of Strategy and Economics at ComReg, the Irish communications regulator, which he joined in 2015. John’s responsibilities include strategic planning, research & economics, and international activities relating to the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications, in which he has served as an alternate member of the Board since 2018.

Prior to joining ComReg, John worked in various roles at the Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (and previously the Irish Competition Authority), latterly as the Director of Civil Competition Law Enforcement.

John holds a PhD in Economics from UCD, Ireland.