UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN
HONORARY CONFERRING
Wednesday, 19 June 2017 at 3 p.m.
TEXT OF THE INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS DELIVERED BY PROFESSOR SIMON MORE on 19 June 2017, on the occasion of the conferring of the Degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa on MICHAEL SHERIDAN
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President, Honoured Guests (including the Sheridan family), Ladies and Gentlemen.
Policy-making is central to modern society, guiding the actions of governments and other bodies in achieving rational outcomes. Many factors shape policy decisions, including the scientific evidence, the finances available, and political considerations. During this process of policy decision-making, the importance of robust, independent and policy-relevant science cannot be overstated. It is now well accepted within the European Union, and increasingly worldwide, that policy should be advised by good science and other independent sources of evidence.
In Ireland, there has been a national bovine tuberculosis eradication programme since the late 1950s. During the early years of the programme, substantial progress was made and there was a rapid fall in the number of TB positive animals detected. However, for some 25 years from the mid 1960s, national progress was very limited, despite very considerable cost and effort. In the late 1980s, Michael Sheridan, with colleagues Emeritus Professors Liam Downey and (the late) Dan Collins, recognised the critical role of scientific research and set about establishing the infrastructure needed to place research in a central role in policy decision-making. They understood that complex problems, such as TB control/eradication, could not be solved without a detailed understanding of the underlying epidemiology of TB, of factors constraining control, and of the relative effectiveness of different control and eradication options.
For a period of almost 30 years until his retirement in 2015, Michael Sheridan transformed this vision into reality from within the national Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, overseeing both the development and nurturing of research infrastructure and a progressive transformation within DAFM of the critical importance of science-informed policy decision-making in animal health.
As a direct consequence of these efforts, there is now a well-established tradition of science-informed policy in animal health in Ireland, with policy decisions being taken only after careful consideration of available scientific research. This was achieved following the establishment of several scientific research groups based at University College Dublin, producing robust, independent and peer-reviewed science, to assist with national animal health policy. The national commitment to, and effectiveness of, this approach can largely be attributed to Michael Sheridan. This work initially focused on TB research, but has since broadened to consider the full spectrum of national issues relevant to animal health and welfare in Ireland.
To the best of our knowledge, this contribution is unprecedented, certainly in animal health, either in Ireland or internationally. Over a period of almost 30 years, Michael was able to sustain this vision within an ever-changing political and policy landscape. I am not aware of an equivalent example of policy support for multi-annual research to facilitate strategic, long-term scientific effort over such a sustained period.
As a direct consequence of Michael’s efforts, there are several vibrant, DAFM-supported research groups within UCD, each contributing scientific effort to support national policy decision-makers. These include:
- The Centre for Veterinary Epidemiology and Risk Analysis (CVERA), where I am Director, and
- The TB Diagnostics and Immunology Research Centre and the Badger Vaccine Project, led by Professor Eamonn Gormley.
Michael joined the then Department of Agriculture & Fisheries in February 1976 as a Veterinary Inspector, and was subsequently promoted to Senior Veterinary Inspector in February 1983, Senior Supervising Veterinary Inspector in December 1990 and Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer in Animal Health in November 1998. He retired in August 2015. In his role as Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer in Animal Health, Michael provided high-level leadership and management of a broad range of national animal health issues including:
- Successful eradication from Ireland of foot and mouth disease, bovine brucellosis and Aujeszky’s disease,
- Resolution of many animal health crises, including bovine spongiform encephalopathy and dioxin contamination, and
- Establishment of the Nixdorf system, the precursor to current national IT infrastructure for animal movement and disease control.
Throughout his career, Michael has shown enormous commitment to science-informed policy decision-making in animal health in Ireland. He is a man of extraordinary vision, integrity, patience and kindness. This honorary degree is an opportunity for us to publicly acknowledge the outstanding contribution of Michael Sheridan to ongoing efforts towards improved animal disease control in Ireland.
Praehonorabilis Praeses, totaque Universitas,
Praesento vobis hunc meum filium, quem scio tam moribus quam doctrina habilem et idoneum esse qui admittatur, honoris causa, ad Gradum Doctoratus Scientiae; idque tibi fide mea testor ac spondeo, totique Academiae.