Statement from the Minister for Health as Dr Tony Holohan to become Professor of Public Health Strategy and Leadership at Trinity College Dublin
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From: Department of Health
- Published on: 25 March 2022
- Last updated on: 5 April 2022
The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, and Professor Linda Doyle, Provost of Trinity College Dublin, have announced the appointment of Dr Tony Holohan as Professor of Public Health Strategy and Leadership at Trinity College Dublin. Dr Holohan will take up the role on 1 July 2022.
Minister Donnelly said:
"Since his appointment as Chief Medical Officer in December 2008, Dr Holohan has made a significant and lasting impact on health in Ireland. Throughout his time as CMO, Tony has used his public health leadership ability, alongside his many other skills and insights, to inform and influence decisions at the highest level in order to protect public health.
"Throughout the pandemic his invaluable advice to me, and to the government has shaped our response to COVID-19, and I witnessed first-hand his unwavering dedication to protecting the health of the people of Ireland. He will play a critical role in applying his knowledge and skills to the development of the next generation of thinking and practice in public health, and I wish Tony all the best in this new and exciting chapter in his career."
The Provost of Trinity College Dublin, Professor Linda Doyle, said:
"Trinity is here to make things better and the university has a long tradition of working with health services in this area. Dr Holohan has become a household name for his service to the country over the past two years but there is plenty that still needs to be done to protect Ireland from future pandemics. We're excited that he will be working with other academic colleagues in Trinity to learn the lessons of COVID and prepare for these future challenges.
"Dr Holohan will not be attached to a single School or Discipline within Trinity. Instead, his role will traverse the Faculties of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences and Health Sciences, recognising the complexity and scope of population health challenges in the modern era."
Dr Tony Holohan said:
"It has been a great privilege for me to serve as Chief Medical Officer and to have had an opportunity to be directly involved in issues of great importance and relevance to the health of the people of Ireland. In particular, these past two years have presented extreme challenges to public health globally and I have been honoured to work alongside exceptional colleagues in the Department of Health, the HSE, the wider health service and across Government. During this time, I have witnessed the dedication of colleagues to protecting the health and wellbeing of people across Ireland.
"I am very excited by this new opportunity, and I look forward with energy and enthusiasm to working with the Provost of Trinity College Dublin and her team, and through this to continue to contribute to improving public health policy, practice and outcomes.
"I look forward to using my experience, knowledge and skills to enable Trinity College Dublin to make a leading contribution to strengthening the knowledge and practice of public health leadership in Ireland.
"Now more than ever, a strong focus on public health protection and preparedness for health emergencies is required. I will seek to use this opportunity to deepen relationships and collaborations including with other universities and agencies, with the WHO and the various agencies of the EU. So much has happened in public health in recent years – together we have much to learn and much to gain."
Notes
Dr Tony Holohan was appointed as Chief Medical Officer in the Department of Health in December 2008. Prior to that he served as Deputy Chief Medical Officer from 2001. He qualified as a doctor from UCD in 1991. He completed his internship in Saint Vincent's Hospital in medicine and surgery. He then trained in general practice in the Mid-Western Health Board general practice training scheme. He returned full-time to UCD in 1995 to complete a Master’s Degree in Public Health followed by a four year training Programme in public health medicine under the auspices of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.
Education and Qualifications
- 1985‐1991 - MB BCh BAO, University College Dublin
- 1992 - Diploma in Child Health, University College Dublin
- 1995 - Membership of the Irish College of General Practitioners
- 1995‐1996 - Master’s in Public Health, University College Dublin
- 1998 - Membership of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine, RCPI
- 1998 - Diploma in Management for Medical Doctors, RCSI
- 2000 - Certificate in Health Economics, IPA
Awards and Fellowships
- 2021 - Freedom of City of Dublin
- 2021 - Irish Healthcare awards, Outstanding Contribution to Irish Medicine
- 2021 - Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
- 2019 - Honorary Fellowship of the Faculty of Sports Medicine
- 2015 - UCD Alumni Award, Public Health
- 2010 - Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland
- 2007 - Charles Cully Medal (Irish Cancer Society)
- 2006 - Fellowship of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine, RCPI
Key achievements and milestones
During his time as Chief Medical Officer, Dr Holohan was directly involved in a wide range of significant developments including the following:
- 2008 - Public health response to Dioxin contamination of pork products
- 2009‐2011 - Public health response to Swine flu pandemic
- 2009‐date - National policy on immunisation including addition of meningococcal, HPV and rotavirus vaccines
- 2009‐date - Tobacco legislation including standardised packaging, smoking in cars and the transposition of the Tobacco Products directive
- 2009‐date - Tobacco policy, including Towards a Tobacco Free Ireland
- 2009‐ date - National Chronic Disease Policy including cardiovascular disease
- 2009‐2020 - Screening policy in relation to colorectal cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, newborn (heel‐prick) screening including the establishment of the National Screening Committee
- 2010‐2020 - Policy on Environmental Health including transposition of Basic Standards Directive on exposure to ionizing radiation
- 2010‐2020 - Policy on Food Safety
- 2010 - Establishment of National Clinical Effectiveness Committee
- 2012 - Criminal Justice (Female Genital Mutilation) Act
- 2012 - National Substance Misuse Strategy
- 2013 - Healthy Ireland: A Framework for Improved Health and Wellbeing and Establishment of Healthy Ireland Office
- 2013‐2019 - Termination of Pregnancy: ABC report, amendment to constitution, legislation (2013 and 2018 Acts) and commencement of new service in 2019
- 2014 - National Rare Disease Plan for Ireland
- 2014 - Investigation into and policy response to Neonatal deaths at Portlaoise Hospital
- 2015 - Legislation to provide for Advanced Healthcare Directives (Assisted Decision‐Making (Capacity)) Act 2015
- 2015 - Establishment of Annual National Health Care Quality Indicators report
- 2015 - Establishment of Annual Healthy Ireland Survey
- 2015 - National Sexual Health Strategy 2015 – 2020
- 2015 - Annual National Quality Health Care Indicators Report
- 2016 - Establishment of National Patient Safety Office
- 2016 - Establishment of Health Cities and Counties Network
- 2016 - Establishment of Healthy Workforce Framework
- 2016 - A Healthy Weight for Ireland: Obesity Policy and Action Plan 2016 ‐ 2025
- 2016 - Get Ireland Active! National Physical Activity Plan for Ireland
- 2016 - Establishment of National Patient Safety Office
- 2017 - National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance 2017 – 2020
- 2017 - Establishment of National Annual Patient Experience Survey
- 2017 - Policy on Assisted Human Reproduction
- 2018 - Levy on Sugar Sweetened Drinks
- 2018 - Public Health (Alcohol) Act
- 2019 - National Health Information and Patient Safety Bill
- 2020‐date - Public health response to COVID‐19