Jim Breslin appointed secretary general at Health

Minister for Health Leo Varadkar has announced the appointment of Jim Breslin as secretary general of the Department of Health.

Mr Breslin rejoins the department from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs where he has served as its inaugural secretary general for the last three years.

He replaces Dr Ambrose McLoughlin who is moving to a new role leading the implementation of the Healthy Ireland initiative ahead of his retirement next year.

Mr Varadkar said he was delighted Mr Breslin had accepted the appointment as secretary general of his department. “He is returning to the Department of Health, where he is highly regarded by his management colleagues and staff alike, at a time of great change for the health service. With this change comes significant challenges and I am confident that, under Jim’s leadership, the department can meet these challenges head on and deliver a better health service to the people of Ireland.”

Mr Breslin has been secretary general of the Department of Children since July 2011. He has been involved in establishing the Children and Family Agency last January, placing Children First on a statutory basis and in redeveloping Oberstown children’s detention school.

He worked previously in the Department of Health, the Health Service Executive, the Eastern Regional Health Authority and the Department of Finance. He holds two masters degrees in public administration; one from the Institute of Public Administration/Trinity College Dublin and another from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.