Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Laura Brien
Laura Brien has over 25 years experience in the area of regulation across a number of industries, in particular the energy sector. Prior to appointment as CEO of MARA, Laura was Chief Executive/Registrar of the Health Insurance Authority.
She was previously a Director at the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) (2014-2020), where she held various roles covering responsibility for Energy Markets, Water, and Compliance. She was a member of the Bureau of the OECD Network of Economic Regulators. Prior to joining the CRU, she was senior economic advisor to ComReg, the Irish telecommunications regulator, from 2012 to 2014.
Earlier in her career she worked advising utilities, governments and regulators in the energy sector in the US, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Areas of work included introduction of private sector investment, development of renewable energy projects, financing and regulation.
She holds a Commerce degree and a Diploma in Corporate Governance from University College Dublin, Ireland and an M.Phil in Economics from Oxford University, UK.
Chair, Mark Mellett
Vice Admiral Mellett was Ireland’s highest ranking military officer, Government’s principal military adviser and member of the National Security Committee and the EU Military Committee. He has served as a specialist Naval Diving Officer, Seagoing Commander and also served in Afghanistan and Lebanon. He led the COVID-19 military response. He is recipient of two Distinguished Service Medals and on behalf of the President of the French Republic he was appointed to the rank of Commander in the National Order of the Légion d’Honneur. He is Council Chair and Board Member of the IMI, Deputy Chair of Sage Advocacy and an Adjunct Professor at UCC. Holder of a PhD in Ecosystem Governance and founder of ‘Green Compass’ he provides strategic advice to governments, industry and ENGOs.
Niamh Kenny
Niamh Kenny is a leading expert in the renewable energy field. Commencing her career in community and regional development she became the CEO of rural development organization Blackwater Resource Development at just 26. She spearheaded a number of environmental initiatives while at Blackwater including the innovative ‘eco-village’ concept which the company went on to co-develop with Cork County Council. She established consultancy firm Exodea Consulting in 2004 during which time she grew the research and innovation part of the business and began her work with renewable energy organisations and companies. She joined Irish renewable energy developer DP Energy in 2012, while there she gained experience in all elements of project development including greenfield development, project acquisition, joint ventures, conflict resolution, contract negotiations, leading financial close and asset operation in Ireland and abroad. Niamh led the team which built a portfolio of 3GW of offshore wind in the Republic of Ireland, which is now being jointly developed by DP and Iberdrola. Niamh is currently involved in floating offshore wind developments in Northern Ireland and Wales with a maximum potential capacity of approx. 2.4GW.
Alma Walsh
Alma Walsh is a Senior Advisor with the National, Regional and Urban Policy Unit of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, working closely with the Housing Delivery, Legislation and Governance Divisions in particular, in relation to the preparation of planning policy and legislation, the implementation of the National Planning Framework and the development of best planning practice among regional assemblies and local authorities and An Bord Pleanála. Prior to joining the Department, Alma has worked within the local authority planning system where her responsibilities have included regional planning guidelines, development plans and local area plans in addition to project based work such as green infrastructure planning, master planning and transport planning. Alma has also previously worked with the Midland Regional Authority and began her career with the private sector. She holds a degree in Sociology with Politics and Human Geography from NUI Galway and a Masters in Regional and Urban Planning from UCD.
James Massey
Dr James Massey is a marine environmental consultant with over 20 years’ experience in marine development, impact assessment and mitigation. James currently works with Rowan Engineering Consultants in Ireland and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia. James has worked in the onshore and offshore renewables development, the oil and gas sector, ports and harbour, coastal development and coastal defence, water and wastewater, abstraction, aggregates and reverse osmosis, infrastructure and power and telecommunications. James has also supported the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)of the national sustainable fisheries strategy and is an independent expert advisor for the Aquaculture Licence Appeals Board. James is experienced in legislation policy and environmental assessment. This includes supporting the development and delivery of the Water Framework Directive Transitional and Coastal Waters assessment for the SEA and implementation of the Shellfish Directive, the national implementation of the Marine Strategy Directive, which included the Irish Marine Atlas, and the Good Environmental Status (GES) targets. James also managed the Natura 2000 reporting and the conservation objective setting for marine and coastal sites under contract for the NPWS and have delivered guidance to industry and regulators in Ireland, the UK and EU, including the Irish Cold Water Coral guidelines for marine impact assessment and the implementation of the marine noise guidance. James is a Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Sciences (IES), a member of Engineers Ireland (EI) and has represented Ireland at ICES, EU DG and INTERREG Atlantic Area working groups and projects.
Karen Banks
Prior to her retirement in August 2021, Karen Banks was Deputy Director General of the Legal Service of the European Commission. Over the course of her career, she worked in the diverse areas of competition law, social law, intellectual property, agricultural and fisheries law, and the external relations aspects of EU law. Although most of Karen’s career in the Commission was in the Legal Service, she also spent three years in the cabinet of Commissioner Flynn who was responsible for Social Affairs. Karen took her first law degree in Dublin in 1978 (University College Dublin) and a Master’s Degree in 1982 at London University (the London School of Economics). She worked briefly as a solicitor in general practice before joining the Commission. Karen is currently a visiting Professor in Practice at the LSE and a Vice-President of the Irish Centre for European Law.
Patrick Gibbons
Beginning his working life with Donegal County Council in 1989, Patrick Gibbons qualified as a solicitor in 1996, He has spent over 25 years in the financial services industry – as a compliance manager/director and solicitor for 15 years before serving as a full-time Independent Non-Executive Director (INED) since 2011. As well as serving on a variety of financial services boards, Patrick has strong State sector board experience, including serving in the past on the boards of the National Treatment Purchase Fund, Inland Fisheries Ireland and the cross border implementation body, the Loughs Agency. He brings considerable experience in business transformation, strategic leadership and corporate governance to the board, including in risk management, compliance and regulation.
Paul O’Neill
Paul is a Principal Officer in the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, where he heads the Planning Advisory Division, with responsibility for providing advice on, and advocacy for, the achievement of DECC’s Key Strategic Objectives through the planning system and ensuring best practice in departmental policy-making as it relates to planning. Prior to that he worked in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and was part of the team that developed the Maritime Area Planning Act, in addition to other previous roles in housing delivery. Paul has extensive experience in planning practice and, while in the private sector, has led the planning and environmental teams on a range of significant public and private projects and plans. He holds a BA(Mod) in Natural Sciences (Geography) from Trinity College Dublin and a Master’s Degree in Regional and Urban Planning from University College Dublin.
Philip Daly
Philip Daly is the lead Partner in the Energy and Natural Resources Unit at LK Shields Solicitors LLP. He is a commercial lawyer with significant experience and focus on the energy market. Philip advises a number of household names in the energy sector on all their legal and regulatory needs ranging from onshore and offshore wind farm and solar farm promoters, combined heat and power plant operators, energy trading companies, venture capitalists and a number of other significant entities within the oil, minerals and renewable energy sectors.
Ruth Brennan
Dr Ruth Brennan is a marine social scientist, policy advisor and integration expert, specialising in marine environmental governance and transdisciplinary research. She is an experienced facilitator and communicator both through her research and her former career as a solicitor with a leading international law firm in London and Paris. Ruth’s research interests include environmental governance at a variety of scales, with a focus on society-environment relations, socio-cultural values, socioecological systems and social justice. Her research offers insights into different ways in which marine and coastal spaces are conceptualised by users, managers and through human-environment interactions, how this relates to natural resource governance challenges and what it means for community engagement. Since 2008, Ruth has worked as a social scientist on ethnographies of coastal communities and at the arts-science-policy interface. Her research experience spans national and European projects and her research has been widely published. Ruth has worked at universities in Ireland, the UK and the Middle East and has served as an expert advisor to the Irish and Scottish Governments. She is currently an Associate Research Fellow at the Trinity Centre for Environmental Humanities, a Senior Research Fellow at the School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, a policy advisor to an Irish Member of the European Parliament, and an external expert for the European Commission.
Patrick Moran
Patrick Moran is Principal Officer in the Climate Division of the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. In this role he has responsibility for strengthening oversight and monitoring of climate-related expenditure, and leading the implementation of performance budgeting to enhance transparency and accountability in respect of public expenditure and the delivery of public services. Patrick has over 10 years’ experience in the use of evidence in policymaking, including as a Senior Analyst in the Health Information and Quality Authority and Senior Research Fellow in Health Economics in Trinity College Dublin. He has a PhD in economic evaluation from Trinity College Dublin.
Brendan McGrath
Brendan McGrath is a native of Clonmel in Co Tipperary, who has been Chief Executive of Galway City Council in the period June 2013 to June 2023. Prior to his current posting Brendan was a Director of Service in Meath County Council over a period of 12 years in the areas of Community & Enterprise, Economic Development, Housing, Transport, Water Services, Planning, Environment, Climate Action and Recreation, Amenity & Leisure. In 2012, he was temporary County Manager in Meath for 12 months, immediately prior to assuming his position in Galway.
Throughout his 47 year local authority career, Brendan has also worked in a myriad of positions and roles in various local authorities, including town authorities in Meath (3 occasions), Wexford, Roscommon, Galway County and Kildare. Brendan holds an M.A. Degree from the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. His other interests include all sports, reading, music, cinema and photography. He is married to Rose for almost 40 years, has 3 children and 2 grandchildren.