Appointment of Ms Fiona Ross as Chairperson to the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB)

Following a StateBoards campaign and selection process, the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, is delighted to announce that he has appointed Ms Fiona Ross as Chairperson-Designate of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB).

Ms Ross has significant Chair and Board level experience, and currently serves as Chair of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) and has served on 17 Boards in Ireland and the UK. She began her career as a stockbroker in the City of London and spent 25 years working in Capital Markets in Dublin, London, Eastern Europe, and the US.

Ms Ross joins the Development Board at a time where, despite delays, the new children’s hospital project is reaching key milestones. The second paediatric outpatient and urgent care centre, at Tallaght hospital, is due to open before the end of the year. The first centre opened in 2019 at Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, and is having a significant impact on children and their families.

Despite delays, and the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, significant progress is being made at the St James’s campus, where the main new hospital building is taking shape, with the building expected to be weathertight by the autumn, and fit out of rooms, theatres and clinical areas is well underway.

Minister Donnelly said:

Ms Ross said:

The Minister also extended his gratitude to Mr Tim Bouchier-Hayes who took on the role of interim Chairperson following the resignation of the former Chair Mr Fred Barry at the end of February:

Consistent with best corporate governance practice it is recommended that no member of a State Board should hold appointments to more than two State boards at the same time. As such, Ms Ross tendered her resignation from the Board of the HSE to the Minister and this was received on 5 August.

The Minister wishes Ms Ross and the Board every success in their role of driving this priority project to completion.

ENDS

Note for Editors

Fiona Ross is an experienced public and private sector Chair and Non-Executive Director, having served on 17 Boards in Ireland and the UK over the past ten years.

• In 2018 she was appointed by the Government to Chair Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) and was re-appointed for second term in June 2021.
• Fiona was, until this appointment, a member of the Board of the HSE where she served on the HSE audit and risk committee.
• In the UK Fiona serves as a Non-Executive Director at The Scottish Government and in May 2020 Fiona was appointed by the UK Government to serve on the Board of Network Rail.
• Fiona also has Central Bank of Ireland authorisation and serves as a non-executive director at JK Funds, Tilney Smith, and Williamson Europe where she chairs the Audit and Risk committee and SphereInvest.

Fiona began her career as a stockbroker in the City of London and spent 25 years working in all areas within Capital Markets in Dublin, London, Eastern Europe, and the United States.

In 2010, Fiona was appointed by the Minister for Arts to run Ireland’s National Library. Subsequently, Fiona continued her interest in the Arts and joined the Heaney family as a Non-Executive Director of the Heaney literary estate.

Fiona is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, Queen's University Belfast and the Institute of Art and Design (IADT).

In 2012 Fiona was awarded a fellowship in Governance at George Washington University in the United States.

The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) has statutory responsibility for planning, designing, building, furnishing, and equipping the new children’s hospital (NCH).

The role of the Board of the NPHDB and a successful Chairperson is to ensure there is corporate ownership for the successful completion of the NCH and to bring greater certainty to the timely and cost-effective delivery of the Project.

A campaign to fill the vacancy of Chairperson of the NPHDB was advertised on StateBoards.ie from 23 April 2021 to 14 May 2021. Ms Ross was appointed following the PAS process.

Ms Ross is taking over the role vacated by Mr Fred Barry upon his resignation in February 2021.

In accordance with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform's Guidelines on Appointments to State Boards, persons being proposed by Ministers for appointment as Chairpersons of State bodies are required to make themselves available to the appropriate Oireachtas Committee to discuss the approach they will take to their role as Chairperson and their views about the future contribution of the body or Board in question. Details of the date of this Oireachtas Committee appearance for Ms Fiona Ross are still to be arranged.

In the interim, Ms Ross will act as Chair-Designate of the Board.

NCH Project

• The NCH project is a Government priority, as it the most significant capital investment programme undertaken in the healthcare system in Ireland.
• It will bring together the services currently provided at three children’s hospitals into a modern, custom-designed, digital, hospital at St James’s campus, to deliver the best care and treatments for Ireland’s sickest children.
• As well as playing a central role in the provision of excellent paediatric healthcare services, it will also be the primary centre for paediatric education, training, and research in Ireland.
• The NCH is now in the major construction phase and the core focus of the NPHDB in this phase of the Project will be on building and equipping the new hospital. The satellite campus at Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, is complete and operational, whilst the satellite campus at Tallaght University Hospital is expected to be completed later this year.