A former Medical Council member is facing professional misconduct allegations over numerous social media posts and public statements criticizing Covid-19 measures and government health policies during the pandemic.
Dr Marcus de Brun, who previously worked as a GP in Rush, Co Dublin, appeared before a Medical Council fitness-to-practise hearing on Tuesday to answer ten charges related to his public criticism of health guidelines, lockdowns, face masks, and vaccination programs between May 2020 and October 2021.
The hearing heard that Dr de Brun, who resigned from the Medical Council in April 2020, made various controversial statements including describing face masks as “filthy,” “dirty” and “dangerous” at a public anti-restriction rally outside Dublin’s Custom House in August 2020. He was also accused of failing to maintain social distancing and not wearing a mask at the event, which attracted up to 7,000 people.
Medical Council counsel Neasa Bird outlined allegations that Dr de Brun repeatedly criticized the National Public Health Emergency Team, claiming members were appointed through cronyism rather than qualifications. He described NPHET as “the biggest disaster ever to have befallen the State” and “a clear and present danger to public health,” stating that “many more will die because of NPHET.”
The GP also described Covid-19 vaccination plans for children as “unhinged rubbish” with “horrific, long-term consequences” and called the vaccination program “without question the greatest crime against humanity that this century has witnessed so far.” He promoted alternative treatments including ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, and linked vaccination schemes to increased cancer cases.
Dr de Brun’s Twitter following grew from 10,000 to 40,000 followers during the pandemic period. Despite adding a disclaimer that his views were personal, the Medical Council argued his medical credentials gave weight to his statements.
In his defense, Dr de Brun claimed his posts were taken out of context and motivated by anger over patient deaths. He described discovering that seven or eight hospital patients were transferred to a nursing home where he treated residents without Covid testing, resulting in ten deaths over subsequent weeks.
“It is important to put things in perspective,” Dr de Brun told the hearing. He said the deaths resulted from government guidelines and Medical Council inaction, prompting his public criticism despite his previously “unblemished record over 23 years as a GP.”
The inquiry heard that Dr de Brun had promised then-Medical Council president Dr Rita Doyle he would delete his Twitter account in September 2020 after she raised concerns, but reactivated it months later. Despite his public statements, he followed HSE guidelines within his own practice.
Dr de Brun, representing himself, criticized the five-year delay in bringing the case and accused Dr Doyle of “double standards” for her own NPHET criticism on Twitter. When asked what action she took regarding his nursing home concerns, Dr Doyle replied “Nothing…not publicly.”
The hearing, expected to last four days, continues Wednesday morning with supporters of Dr de Brun attending the public proceedings.