New Appointments to the PSI Council
June 23, 2022
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has this week appointed four public interest members to the PSI Council following an open call for applicants through the State Boards appointment process. The new appointments are Dr Ann McGarry, Dr Paula Barry Walsh and Mr Peter Dennehy. Ms Dorothy Donovan has also been re-appointed for a second four-year term.
Dr Ann McGarry is a graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology (Applied Physics) and a postgraduate of University College Dublin (MSc and PhD Physics). She is a Chartered Director with the Institute of Directors and has worked within national regulatory organisations, including as Chief Executive of the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland and as a Director of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Commission for Regulation of Utilities.
Dr Paula Barry Walsh graduated as a veterinary practitioner from University College Dublin and she has a Masters in Applied Food Science, a Certificate in Welfare, Ethics and Law, and a Certificate in Corporate Governance. She was until recently the Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Peter Dennehy is a practising barrister at the Bar of Ireland and chartered engineer who has held senior management positions across public and regulatory bodies, including Road Safety Authority (RSA), the Nursing & Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI).
Dorothy Donovan will serve a second term on the Council. She is a practising barrister.
At its online meeting today the PSI Council also re-elected pharmacists Muireann Ní Shúilleabháin as President and Rory O’Donnell as Vice-President of the PSI for a 12-month term. The appointments are effective immediately.
Both Muireann and Rory will work with the Council to progress a substantial work programme overseeing the functions of the PSI and aligned to the regulator’s Corporate Strategy 2021-2023 which details the strategic objectives of the regulator to assure public and patient trust in pharmacy.
Muireann Ní Shúilleabháin is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin and has 30 years’ experience, working in many facets of the pharmacy profession. She currently works in community pharmacy in Co. Kerry and she has spent more than twenty-five years as a hospital pharmacist, both in Ireland and the USA (California and Washington states). She has been in a Chief/Superintendent pharmacist role since 2001. Her overall remit is in medication safety, and she has been an active advocate for quality and safety in medicines management at a local and national level. Muireann has experience in healthcare management, clinical governance, clinical pharmacy, consultancy pharmacy, accreditation processes, pharmacy practice and project leadership. She has a Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma, a Law degree and is currently pursuing a diploma in Corporate Governance.
Rory O’Donnell is a pharmacist graduate from Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. He also holds a degree in Natural Science (Chemistry major) from Trinity College Dublin and a diploma in Strategy and Innovation from the Irish Management Institute. Rory is a patient facing pharmacist and operates a community pharmacy in Gweedore, Co. Donegal. Rory has vast experience serving within the profession of pharmacy, having served as President of the Irish Pharmacy Union (2012-2014) and as President of the PSI Council (2017-2019) during a previous term. He is Chair of the totalhealth pharmacy group, is Deputy Chair of a nursing home and has served on commercial boards as well as having experience in the charity sector. He has lectured on the RCSI Leadership in Pharmacy programme and on the Pharmacy Technician course in Letterkenny I.T.
Biographies of Council members are available on this website.
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