Bernie Mc Nally was appointed Secretary General of the Department of Education in February 2022. The Department leads on primary and post primary education policy in Ireland and supports 4000 schools and almost 1,000,000 children and young people. From 2015 to 2022, Bernie was an Assistant Secretary in the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, where responsibilities included early education and care, youth services, research and evaluation, and, more laterally, preparations for the transfer of disability services from the Department of Health. Bernie was Director General of the Office of the Ombudsman and Information Commissioner from 2012 to 2015 leading out on numerous initiatives to improve transparency, openness and accountability within the public service. In her earlier career, Bernie was an Occupational Therapist and worked for a short time in both the UK and USA. She was later Director of Therapy and Social Work services in St James’s Hospital, Dublin. Bernie has a BSc and MSc from Trinity College Dublin and an MBS from University College Cork. She has also completed a number of senior leadership programmes.