Former Secretary General of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Government of Ireland

Policy Leaders Fellowship Alumnus, Centre for Science and Policy

Jim Breslin held the position of Secretary General of Ireland’s Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science since its inception in July 2020, until September 2023. The establishment of this Department reflected the priority attached by the Irish Government to the contribution that further and higher education and research can make to future economic and social prosperity and sustainability.

In 2011 he led the establishment of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs as its first Secretary General. Following this he was Secretary General of the Department of Health for 6 years. He has a Masters in Public Administration (Mid-Career) from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, MSc (Econ) from Trinity College Dublin and BA in Economics and Politics from University College Dublin.