Martin Higgins is Deputy Chair of the all-island Institute of Public Health, and a council member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland. 

Previously, he was Chief Executive of Safefood, one of the cross-border bodies set up under the Good Friday Agreement, for 14 years until his retirement. Prior to that, he worked in the Department of Health for many years specialising in finance, and later in public health regulation. 

He is an experienced board member, having served on the boards of the Irish Medicines Board, CORU, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) and as board chair of the Food Safety Authority. 

Martin has a keen interest in governance and currently chairs the audit and risk committees (ARCs) of both the National Disability Authority and the Competition and Consumer Protection Authority.  He is also an ARC member with the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities. 

With a keen interest in the arts, he has previously carried out non-executive roles for the Arts Council and is currently a board member of the DLR Mill Theatre in Dundrum. 

A professional accountant with additional qualifications in governance, regulation and health economics, Martin is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.