About Us
The COVID-19 Evaluation Panel, chaired by Professor Anne Scott, is tasked with compiling a comprehensive independent Report, in line with its Terms of Reference to:
It’s work plan seeks to build trust through a transparent, cooperative and non-adversarial approach. A phased programme of work with overlapping elements will be undertaken, following a broad and varied methodological approach. It will be evidence-led, harnessing documentation, data, research, and reports; coupled with submissions and broader consultation.
The Evaluation Panel will submit its final report to the Taoiseach approximately 12-18 months after commencement. Furthermore, the Evaluation Panel may submit interim reports on matters where assessment points to immediate policy, system or practice improvements or changes. It’s Terms of Reference also set out areas which are explicitly not included within the scope of the Evaluation’s work, such as clinical decisions made by individual clinicians during the COVID-19 pandemic and the specific epidemiology of the COVID-19 virus and its variants.
COVID-19 Evaluation Panel
The independent Panel is multi-disciplinary with necessary expertise to support the broad remit of the Evaluation.
Chair of the COVID-19 Evaluation Panel
Professor Scott is Professor Emerita University of Galway. Over her career she has held a variety of leadership roles in both Irish and English university sectors including Head of School, Executive Dean, Vice President for Equality and Diversity (University of Galway 2016 – 2021), and Deputy President and Registrar (Dublin City University 2006-2012).
She is an RGN and holds a BA in Philosophy and Psychology from Trinity College, Dublin, MSc from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Glasgow. She has worked as a clinician and academic in Ireland, Scotland, Kenya and England.
Professor Scott has extensive experience and knowledge of the Irish healthcare system.
Professor Scott’s research interests include the philosophy and ethics of health care, judgement and decision-making in clinical practice, and health services research focusing on the health work force.
Professor David Heymann
David Heymann is a medical epidemiologist and Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. From 2009 to 2017 he was chair of the UK Health Protection Agency and then Public Health England, and during this period he also led the Centre on Global Health Security at Chatham House (London). From 1989 to 2009 Heymann held various leadership positions in infectious diseases at WHO, and in 2003 headed the WHO global response to SARS in his role as executive director of communicable diseases.
In 1976, after spending two years working in India on smallpox eradication, Heymann was a member of the CDC (Atlanta) team to investigate the first Ebola outbreak in DRC and stayed on in sub-Saharan Africa for 13 years in various field research positions on Ebola, monkeypox, Lassa Fever, malaria and other tropical diseases. Heymann has published over 275 peer reviewed articles and book chapters, is editor of the Control of Communicable Diseases Manual, and is an elected member of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences and the US National Academy of Medicine.
Dr. Nat O’Connor
Dr Nat O’Connor is Assistant Professor of Social Policy at the School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, UCD and a Fellow of the UCD Geary Institute for Public Policy. Prior to joining UCD, Nat worked with Age Action (2021-24), the Labour Party (2018-20), Ulster University (2015-18), TASC (2009-2015) and the Homeless Agency (2006-09). Nat was also an occasional lecturer of social policy at Maynooth University (2005-2023). Nat is currently the chairperson of the Irish Social Policy Association, a member of the National Economic and Social Council (NESC), a member of the HSE Population Based Planning Expert Advisory Group, and Senior Policy Adviser to Age Action.
Dr. Nora M. Strecker
Dr. Nora M. Strecker is an Assistant Professor and Ad Astra Fellow at University College Dublin’s School of Economics, where she has been a faculty member since 2020. Prior to her appointment at UCD, Dr. Strecker was a postdoctoral researcher at ETH Zurich. She holds a PhD in Economics from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, completed in 2017, and Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from New York University.
Dr. Strecker’s research focuses on public finance, particularly personal income taxation, at the intersection of international trade, welfare economics, and political economy. Her work examines the effects of globalization on firms, workers, and governments, with recent projects exploring how income taxation influences global inequality and the transition from tariff-based to tax-based economies. She has published in leading international economics journals, including the American Economic Review, the Journal of International Economics, and International Tax and Public Finance.
Beyond her research, Dr. Strecker is actively involved in several academic and professional organizations. She is a research affiliate of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) in the International Trade and Regional Economics programme area and is affiliated with the UCD Geary Institute for Public Policy. She is also a member of SKATTEFORSK – Centre for Tax Research, the Standing Field Committee on Public Economics of the Verein für Socialpolitik (German Economics Association), and the Dublin European Institute. Additionally, she serves as a managing editor of the German Economic Review. Dr. Strecker also co-founded the Irish Public Economics Network (IPEN) and co-organizes the Irish Public Economics Workshop (IPEW).
Professor Bert Gordijn
Bert Gordijn is Professor of Ethics and Director of the Institute of Ethics at Dublin City University. He studied philosophy and history in Utrecht, Strasbourg, and Freiburg, earning a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Freiburg in 1995, followed by a PhD in bioethics from Radboud University Nijmegen in 2003. He has held visiting fellowships at Lancaster University (UK), Georgetown University (USA), the National University of Singapore, the Fondation Brocher (Switzerland), and Yenepoya University in Mangalore, India. Professor Gordijn has served on advisory and expert committees of the European Chemical Industry Council, the European Patent Organisation, the Irish Department of Health and UNESCO.”
The Panel may expand, if necessary, as work progresses.
There is also scope for the Panel to draw on wider expertise if required.
Secretariat support for the Evaluation Panel is provided by a dedicated team of seconded civil servants.