Registrar Marita Kinsella to take up a position in the Department of Health
November 25, 2015
The Registrar and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI), Marita Kinsella, has been appointed to a senior role in the Department of Health and will be stepping down from her role in the PSI early next month.
Ms Kinsella, a pharmacist and barrister and a native of Co. Carlow, will commence her new role in December in the Department of Health’s Acute Hospitals Policy division.
Speaking on behalf of the Council of the PSI, President Dr Ann Frankish said, “We are immensely grateful to Marita for her dedication and contribution to the work of the PSI, most recently as Registrar, and in her previous roles with the organisation. She has led this organisation through a time of significant developments and challenges, ensuring that our activities, whether in the area of pharmacist education, practice development or pharmacy standards, have always centred on the interest of the patient and wider public. She has ensured solid strategic and operational direction of an organisation with growing responsibilities and staff, and maintained and developed strong relationships with our vital network of stakeholders; patient organisations, policy-makers, pharmacists and other regulators. We wish her every success in her new role with the Department, which is one of its most challenging jobs."
Ms Kinsella said, “I would like to thank Council members, past and present, and staff for their support and commitment to the organisation and its goals during my time with the PSI. I am very proud of how the organisation has evolved and put in place a regulatory system that supports patient health and safety. As a pharmacist, I am also proud of how the pharmacy profession continues to provide high quality services to patients and has risen to the challenges introduced under the Pharmacy Act in 2007. The responsibilities of the PSI are broad and very varied and it has been my pleasure to work with such talented and engaged people, both within and beyond this organisation, in carrying out those functions."
Marita has served in many different roles with the PSI over her near decade with the organisation including as Registrar since 2013. She held the post of Chief Pharmacist at the Department of Health from January 2009 until October 2013, prior to which she held the post of Head of Legal Affairs at the PSI and played a key role in the early implementation of the Pharmacy Act 2007. As Chief Pharmacist, she was responsible for policy and legislation relating to the regulation of medicines, medical devices, cosmetics, narcotics and psychotropic substances, as well as policy and legislation regulating pharmacists and pharmacies. She also chaired the EU Council Working Party on Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices during the Irish Presidency of the EU and served as a member of the Patient Safety Commission Implementation Steering Group.
Marita Kinsella holds a B.Sc. (Pharmacy) degree from the University of Dublin, Trinity College and is a registered pharmacist. She also holds the degree of Barrister at Law from the Honorable Society of Kings Inns, Dublin. Marita is currently undertaking a professional doctorate degree at Queens University Belfast, UK.
An Acting Registrar will lead the organisation on Marita’s departure, and a competition will commence next year, in conjunction with the Public Appointments Service, to appoint a permanent replacement to the role.
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