CEO OF CHILDREN’S charity Barnardos Fergus Finlay and two patient advocates are among eight new people appointed to the board of the HSE.

Other appointees include Aogán Ó Fearghail – a former president of the GAA – and Tim Hynes, Group Chief Information Officer with AIB. 

The board will be appointed on an administrative basis until legislation has passed. 

Mark Molloy and Dr Sarah McLaughlin are patient advocates, and have been included in the board following a recommendation made by Dr Gabriel Scally in the report on the CervicalCheck controversy. 

Molloy is a quantity surveyor, a member of the Expert Group on Tort Reform and Management of Clinical Negligence Claims and a patient advocate.

McLoughlin is a science and communication office at Retina International and a patient advocate. 

Speaking today, Health Minister Simon Harris said the board members had been chosen for “excellence and leadership in their fields”. 

“The new board will play a crucial role in reform of our health service as we implement Sláintecare,” he said. 

“We have also fulfilled a key recommendation from Dr Gabriel Scally’s report by ensuring the Board will have members with patient advocacy experience and expertise,” Harris said. 

This will ensure the patient’s voice is embedded in the reform of our health service and patient concerns are at the heart of the key decisions taken.

The full list of the new board members is:

• Fergus Finlay, former CEO of Barnardos
• Tim Hynes
• Prof Deirdre Madden, professor of law at UCC and chair of the Commission on Patient Safety and Quality Assurance. Dr Madden will be appointed Deputy Chair of the HSE Board
• Dr Sarah McLoughlin
• Mark Molloy
• Aogán Ó Fearghail
• Fiona Ross, chair of CIE and Mental Health Ireland
• Dr Yvonne Traynor, vice president of Regulatory & Scientific Affairs with the Kerry Group