Minister for Health appoints five new members of the National Screening Advisory Committee

Following the conclusion of an expression of interest process, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has appointed the following new members to the National Screening Advisory Committee.

Dr Gough has worked as a medical doctor and has taught ethics, law and professionalism and has a Doctorate in Bioethics and Medical Jurisprudence, a Degree in Law and a master’s degree in Pharmacology.

Dr Briody is a health economist at the School of Population Health, RCSI and has conducted economic evaluations of various screening and prevention interventions for chronic diseases, such as colorectal cancer and diabetes. He also has experience in the health economics of cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Mr Jonathan O’Grady has a comprehensive background in health policy advocacy, is the Honorary President of the Irish Wheelchair Association and is a co-founder of Spinal Muscular Atrophy Ireland (SMA Ireland). Mr O’Grady has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a master’s degree from Trinity College, Dublin.

Professor Eogan is an experienced Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist with over 25 years experience and is the HSE national clinical lead for Sexual Assault Treatment Unit (SATU) services. Professor Eogan is also an RCSI Honorary Clinical Associate Professor and is significantly involved in preparing the next generation of clinicians in the area of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Dr Mahon is taking up a post as Lecturer/Assistant Professor in Economics at the University of Galway, specialising in Health Economics and has expertise of 10 years of conducting international economic evaluations of new medicines from within the healthcare industry.

NSAC

The National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC) is an independent advisory committee which advises the Minister and the Department of Health on all new proposals for population-based screening programmes and changes to existing programmes. More information on the Committee is available on the NSAC website and in the Annual Report 2022. The Committee also published its Work Programme in 2022.

The Committee plays a significant strategic role in the development and consideration of population-based screening programmes in Ireland.

The current membership of the Committee is available.