Council Biographies
Professor Bernard McCartan (Chairperson)
Professor Bernard McCartan has extensive experience in regulation and fitness to practise, having been President of the Dental Council and a member of its Fitness to Practise Committee, and Chair of the Professional Conduct Committee of the Pharmaceutical Society. He was first appointed to the Health and Social Care Professionals Council in June 2014 on the nomination of the Minister for Education and Skills.
He is Visiting Professor in Oral Medicine in Trinity College Dublin and was the first Director of Specialist Training in Dentistry in Ireland. He was formerly Consultant in Oral Medicine in the Dublin Dental Hospital, Hume Street Hospital and the Blackrock Clinic. He also served three terms as President of the Irish Federation of University Teachers.
Marie Culliton (Deputy Chairperson)
Marie was appointed to Council in March 2013. She entered the profession of Medical Science in 1973. Marie was awarded the Diploma in Medical Laboratory Science (Microbiology) in 1978 and Fellowship of the Institute of Biomedical Science in 1980 specialising in Clinical Chemistry.
Further professional development resulted in the award of MSc in Clinical Biochemistry from Trinity College in 1990 and the MBA in Health Services Management in from UCD and RCSI in 2001 Marie worked in the Endocrinology Laboratory at St Vincent’s University Hospital for many years where she had research interests in Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia and Polycystic Ovarian Disease.
In 2004 Marie was appointed Chief Medical Scientist/Laboratory Manager at the National Maternity Hospital Marie has been a member of the Council of The Academy of Medical Laboratory Science since 1985 and has served two terms as President. The Academy has been the Competent Authority under the EU Free Movement Directive and the experience Marie has gained in the Academy will be of value to the Council.
Marie is the President of the European Association for Professions in Biomedical Science since 2004. In this role she has undertaken a survey of education standards in Europe culminating in an agreed EPBS policy.
Ruth Charles
Ruth is self-employed as an independent private practitioner of Paediatric Dietetics, operating outpatient clinics in Dublin and Longford plus consultancy services to industry, government and non-government organisations since 2011.
Ruth graduated from DIT/TCD in 1992 qualified in Human Nutrition & Dietetics. She certified in Advanced Study in Paediatric Allergy at Imperial College London in 2012.
She has 16 years clinical experience in acute and tertiary HSE clinical settings working with adults and paediatrics. Interspersed with clinical practice has been clinical and laboratory research, healthcare management, undergraduate and postgraduate clinical student training and placement.
She has been a member of the Irish Nutrition & Dietetic Institute since graduation and is also a member of the International Network for Diet and Nutrition in Allergy. She founded and co-ordinates the Irish Food Allergy Network for healthcare professionals in 2011. She is a volunteer skills provider to Anaphylaxis Ireland since May 2010 and the Down Syndrome Centre since 2014.
She was initially appointed to the Dietitians Registration Board from March 2013-2016 by the Minister for Health and was subsequently re-elected by professional members in 2017 representing management of the profession.
She was appointed to Council in May 2017.
Sinead Fitzgerald
Sinead was appointed to Council in November 2016 on the nomination of the Minister for Health. Sinead is a Principal Clinical Psychologist with the Health Service Executive with 25 years’ experience of the Irish mental health services. Since 2002 Sinead has held the appointment as Director of Clinical Practice on the Doctoral Programme in Clinical Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, with responsibility for the delivery and development of quality clinical practice for clinical psychology trainees. Sinead holds the position of Adjunct Assistant Professor in Trinity’s School of Psychology with specific interests in personal and professional development, service user involvement, mental health and clinical supervision.
Sinead has knowledge and experience in the development and maintenance of quality assurance and educational governance systems within clinical practice education. Sinead has experience of validation of overseas practitioner psychologists on behalf of the Psychological Society of Ireland advising the Department of Health as the competent authority under the Free Movement EU Directive. Sinead has experience of third level institutional review and acted as both panel member and external assessor on professional accreditation panels for the Psychological Society of Ireland.
James Forbes
James Forbes is the Head of Care with Childvision.
In addition to his responsibilities managing 30 Social Care practicitioners and membership of ChildVision’s senior management team, James is also an Associate Lecturer, University of Worcester (vision impairment and disability studies), an Associate Lecturer, Institute of Technology, Tallaght (social care degree programme) and a tutor on Trinity College Dublin’s Postgraduate diploma in Child Protection and Welfare. In addition to a social care qualification, James has primary degrees in law (LLB) and in education, (BA (Ed)), a masters in education (MA (Ed)) and an MSc in child protection and welfare. At present, James sits on two HIQA advisory boards, including the group advising on the production of a guidance document on service user autonomy.
Mo Flynn
Mo Flynn qualified from the New University of Ulster as a social worker and held positions in general and medical social work in Ireland, the UK and Australia, and progressing into senior social work and management positions.
She completed a Masters Degree in Gerontology at King’s College, University of London and worked with the NHS as a continuing care coordinator and with the Health Advisory Service in London as a service development advisor, specialising in older persons’ services. Mo returned to Ireland in 2001 to work with the Eastern Regional Health Authority as a service planner for older people and people with intellectual disabilities and later as a senior commissioner, before taking on the role of national care group manager in the older people’s directorate of the Health Service Executive. She was appointed chief executive of Our Lady’s Hospice and Care Services in 2006 and led the organisation through a strategic planning and change process, including overseeing a significant financial improvement programme and management of the effective introduction of national standards and HIQA registration.
Mo became Group CEO of Rehab in January 2015, where she is currently developing a new strategy for the organisation across the spectrum of care, learning and employment for people with disabilities. Mo previously held board positions with The Carers Association and HIQA. She is President of the Irish Gerontological Society and a council member of the International Association of Geriatrics and Gerontology.
Dr. David Irwin
Since January 2014 Dr. Irwin has worked on the Technological University for Dublin (TU4D) project which will seek technological university designation for DIT following the merger of DIT, IT Blanchardstown and ITT Dublin. Dr. Irwin has also been Head of the Department of Humanities at the Institute of Technology in Tallaght since 2000. During his tenure he has established a range of undergraduate programmes in such diverse subjects as Applied Languages, Creative Digital Media, Culinary Arts, European Studies, International Tourism and Hospitality Management, Social Care Practice, and Theology. He has also established postgraduate programmes at both masters and doctoral levels.
At national level he has served on a number of committees including the Governing Body of DCU and the Development Education Committee at the Dept. of Foreign Affairs. Since 2006 he has served as a lay member on Mental Health Tribunals for the Mental Health Commission. After obtaining primary and masters degrees from UCC he received his doctorate from University of Ulster Jordanstown. He also holds a LLB in Irish Law from GCD. In addition to lecturing in Media Analysis, Family Law, and European Union Law, he has supervised a number of masters and doctoral students and lectured extensively in Europe under the aegis of the Erasmus Staff Mobility Programme.
Paul Lyng
Paul is currently a lecturer at Waterford IT. He was previously the European Director of Finance for Bausch & Lomb.
Paul is a Fellow of the Association of Certified Accountants and has a Diploma from the Institute of Directors. Paul has many years’ experience at senior management level in the multinational environment. Paul is interested in health promotion and lifestyle changes for the better, working in the area of mental health and engaging in voluntary activity in this area. He is hoping his experience of corporate governance and financial management will be of benefits to CORU.
Deirdre Madden
Dr. Deirdre Madden is a Senior Lecturer in Law with research interests and publications primarily in the area of medical law and ethics. She was author of the Report on Post-Mortem Practice and Procedure (2005) and Chairperson of the Commission on Patient Safety and Quality Assurance which published its Report, entitled Building a Culture of Patient Safety, in July 2008.
Dr Madden was a member of the Medical Council from 2004-2013 and remains a member of the Fitness to Practise Committee and the Ethics Committee of the Council. She is currently a member of a number of national expert groups related to medical law, ethics and patient safety, including the National Patient Safety Advisory Group and the National Advisory Committee on Bioethics. Dr Madden also chaired the National Consent Advisory Group for the HSE.
Joe Martin
Joe has 34 years’ experience working within the Irish Health Service. He commenced work with the then Midland Health Board in January 1977 as a Clerical Officer. He retired from the Health Services (HSE) in December 2010.
Prior to retirement Joe was General Manager with responsibility for the Acute Hospital Services in the Midlands area, the Acute Hospitals in Mullingar, Tullamore and Portlaoise. During his working career Joe also worked within the Primary Care Services and Community Care Services as well as the Acute Hospital Services in the Midlands area. He obtained an Honours Degree in Public Sector Management from the Institute of Public Administration in 1995.
Tony McAleer
Tony was appointed to Council in March 2013. He graduated as an Orthoptist in 1985 from the Midland Orthoptic Training School, Birmingham, England and obtained a Masters in Medical Science from the University of Sheffield in 2002. He also has a MA in Healthcare Management (2015) and a Certificate in Governance (2014) from the Institute of Public Administration in Dublin.
He took up employment in 1985 at the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital, Dublin, where he still works as a Clinical Specialist Orthoptist. He has also worked at St Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin, St Michael’s Hospital, Dun Laoghaire, and Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin.
Tony has had extensive experience as a professional representative for the Orthoptics profession in Ireland. He is currently a member of the Primary Care Eye Services Review Group which has reported to the HSE on the development of Ophthalmology services nationally. He is the Chair of the Audit Risk and Governance Committee in CORU.
Shane McCarthy
Shane McCarthy has managed his own legal practice since 2000 in wide-ranging areas of law including conveyancing, litigation, immigration, family law, probate and employment law.
He represents clients as both plaintiffs and defendants in civil matters before the District Court, Circuit Court, High Court and Employment Appeals Tribunal and represents defendants in criminal proceedings. He has been a member of An Garda Síochána Complaints Board since 2002. He has been appointed to many committees and boards over the years, and is currently a member of the Parole Board, the General Council of the Law Society of Ireland, the Regulatory Board of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors for Ireland and the UK, the Fitness to Practice Committee of the Nursing and Midwives Board of Ireland, and Chairman of the Censorship of Publications Board.
He is also a Director of Extern, a charity which works with children, adults and communities affected by social exclusion throughout the island of Ireland. Shane has made presentations at various international law conferences and has had articles published in a number of journals on various legal topics. He has a primary and masters law degrees from UCC and has commenced his research for a Doctorate in Law.
Caroline McIntosh
Caroline was appointed to Council in March 2013. She received the BSc (Hons) degree in Podiatry in 1998 from the University of Southampton, the MSc degree in Podiatry in 2003 from Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh and Ph.D.degree at the University of Huddersfield in 2007.
In 2008 Caroline was appointed as Head of Podiatry at the National University of Ireland Galway. She has established and led on the development of the first degree programme in Podiatry in the Republic of Ireland. Prior to this she was employed as a Senior Lecturer in Podiatry at the University of Huddersfield, UK and before that worked as a senior podiatrist working in full time clinical practice in the NHS. In addition to her academic responsibilities Caroline maintains a clinical role as a Diabetes Specialist Podiatrist in University College Hospital Galway.
Caroline has particular interests and expertise in the education and training of health professionals, quality assurance and monitoring of standards of education. Caroline also has a keen interest in research and evidence based-practice. She has published over 40 peer-reviewed papers, primarily in the field of diabetes and tissue viability, and acted as Principal Investigator in a number of clinical trials.
Catherine McKenna
Catherine is a graduate of the College of Radiographers, London (DCRT) with a career spanning more than thirty five years in the Irish public health service, having gained broad experience in a variety of roles and specialisations from clinical to managerial level. In early 2009 she was appointed as the Radiation Therapy Services Manager (RTSM) at St. Luke’s Hospital Dublin. More recently, with the expansion of Radiotherapy Services in Dublin to include centres on Beaumont and St. James’ campuses, Catherine has assumed the role of Network RTSM within the St. Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network (SLRON).
As Network RTSM she is responsible for facilitating and enabling change within a structured and risk managed environment with all necessary training and supports in place to improve services to patients and achieve successful outcomes. She has a proven track record in implementing strategic plans and achieving target timelines.
Catherine is a member of the Board of Directors of St. Luke’s Institute of Cancer Research (SLICR), whose main objective is to foster and support research in radiation oncology, working collaboratively with other academic and research institutions.
She is the National Clinical Lead for Radiation Therapists with a key role as advisor to the National Cancer Control Programme, chairing the National RTSM group, and progressing standardised work practices, competency matrices, and evidence based practices within radiotherapy. As a member of the National Programme for Radiation Oncology (NPRO) Board she is engaged in planning for the future expansion of Radiotherapy services in Ireland, inputting into HSE Service Plans, Key Performance Indicator (KPI) reviews, and workforce planning.
A member of the Professional Body since its inception, Catherine currently holds the Radiography Services Managers Chair on the Council of the Irish Institute of Radiography and Radiation Therapy (IIRRT). Additionally, she is on the editorial board of both Scope of Practice and Code of Conduct guidelines.
She sits on the National Radiotherapy Sub-Committee of HSE with a mandate to advise the Medical Exposures Radiation Unit (MERU) in the areas of Incident Reporting and National Clinical Audit in Radiotherapy.
Maeve Murphy
Maeve was appointed to Council in March 2013. Maeve is the current Chairperson of the Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists(IASLT), Chairperson of the Professional Development and Ethics Committee of IASLT and also Chairperson of the Therapy Professions Committee.
She is manager of the Speech and Language Therapy department at the Adelaide and Meath Hospital incorporating the National Children’s Hospital, Tallaght. She received her speech and language therapy professional qualification from Trinity College in 1997 and received an MBA from University College Dublin in 2006. Maeve has significant experience of multi-professional working both at a clinical and managerial level. Specific areas of interest and experience are service integration, service-user involvement and ensuring high standards of professional practice. Maeve Murphy is also a member of the Speech and Language Therapist Registration Board
Cormac Quinlan
Cormac qualified in Social Work in 1997 from Trinity College Dublin and since then has worked extensively in the area of child protection and welfare both within the HSE and with the now with the Child and Family Agency.
He worked in New Zealand in 2003 for 10 months with the Child Youth and Family Service.
Cormac was Principal Social Worker in Dublin South West, Local Health Office of the Child & Family Agency from 2007 - 2014. In this post he held responsibility for over 80 staff including team leaders, social workers and social care leaders in managing the delivery of a service in a large area of complex need and high deprivation. The role also incorporated integrating and planning with a number of other agencies and services and representing in the HSE and social work in such forums.
Carmel Smith
Carmel was awarded her PhD in Psychology from Trinity College Dublin. She is a Lecturer in the School of Business and Humanities at the Institute of Technology Carlow and a Research Associate at the Children’s Research Centre, Trinity College Dublin. Her research interests and publications are primarily in the areas of children and childhood.
Carmel qualified as a social worker in 1986 and holds a Masters in Social Science from University College Dublin. She practised for over 20 years as a Social Worker and Probation Officer in London, Belfast and Dublin. She has worked as an Independent Person and Complaints Investigator for Local Authorities in England and Wales. Carmel has considerable knowledge and experience of Institutional Reviews and quality assurance in the higher education sector. On behalf of Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), she has acted as Panel Member and Chair of Programmatic and Institutional Reviews of third-level institutions.
Peter Davison (Observer)
Peter Davison is a Optometry Lecturer at the Dublin Institute of Technology.
Peter’s knowledge, skills and expeirences to-date includes; Member, CoruRegistration and Education Committee; Elected member, Opticians Board. An observer on Coru Council (representing optometrists on the OpticiansBoard), Peter is a former Head of Department of Optometry, Dublin Institute of Technology. Peter is a former practising optometris, and a former Fellow of the College of Optometrists (UK); Member(and former Council member) Association of Optometrists Ireland. He also formerly lecturered in Optometry at Singapore Polytechnic. Peter Davison is also a member of the Optical Registration Board.
Vivienne Starr (Observer)
Vivienne Starr is a Dispensing and Contact Lens Optician who qualified with the Association of British Dispensing Opticians in 1980.
Vivienne is an observer to Council of CORU, and is very interested in improving the quality of dispensing in Ireland for young and old. Also, a past president and now committee member of Irish Association of Dispensing Opticians.
She brings with her experience of IADO at committee level since its resurrection in 1986.
Vivienne Starr is also a member of the Optical Registration Board.
