Organisation information
Members
From Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO)
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From Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO)
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Last updated on
The Standards Commission has six members and is chaired by a former judge of the High Court.
Garrett Sheehan, retired judge of the Court of Appeal, has been appointed by President Michael Higgins to a six-year term as Commission Chairperson, effective 9 December 2020.
Garrett Sheehan began his career as a solicitor. He was appointed to the High Court in 2007, and to the Court of Appeal in 2014, where he served until his retirement in 2017.
Seamus McCarthy was appointed as Comptroller and Auditor General on 28 May 2012. He previously served as Director of Audit in the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General from 2008, with overall responsibility for the Office’s reporting programme and for Revenue, Social Protection and third level education audits. Between 1994 and 2008, he served as Deputy Director of Audit in the Reporting Directorate. He joined the Office from the Department of Finance where he worked from 1981 to 1994 carrying out economic and demographic analysis and policy and programme evaluation work.
Mr McCarthy holds a Master in Science (Public Sector Analysis) degree awarded by Trinity College, Dublin, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in economics and political science from the National University of Ireland, Galway.
Ger Deering was appointed Ombudsman and Information Commissioner for Ireland by President Michael D. Higgins in January 2022.
Ger has established and led a number of public bodies and has considerable experience in consumer and employment rights.
He was appointed Financial Services Ombudsman in 2015 and Pensions Ombudsman in 2016. He became the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman when both offices were merged in 2018. In this role he led a significant change programme that resulted in many more complaints against financial service providers being resolved through mediation.
Ger was the first Commissioner for Taxi Regulation, where he introduced a range of reforms to the industry. He was the founding Director of the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) where he promoted compliance with employment rights and secured redress for employees who were denied their minimum statutory entitlements.
Ger played a key role in leading the Workplace Relations Reform Programme which created a two-tier user-oriented national workplace relations service that replaced the former five bodies.
He has extensive experience working across local government, community development, the civil service and the private sector.
Peter Finnegan joined the Houses of the Oireachtas Service in January 1997 and was appointed Clerk of the Dáil on 13 January 2016.
Mr Finnegan previously served in the Department of the Taoiseach, Department of Education and Skills, Department of Finance, Department of Social Protection, and Office of Public Works. He is from Dublin and holds a B.Sc. (Computer Science) from Trinity College Dublin; Certified Diploma in Accounting and Finance from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants; and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, UCD.
Martin Groves was appointed Clerk of the Seanad in January 2017, having served as Clerk Assistant since June 2014. He joined the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas Service in 1992 where he served in a range of roles including Finance Officer, clerk to several Oireachtas committees and the parliamentary procedural offices. Prior to 1992, he served in the Department of Defence, Telecom Éireann and the Department of Posts and Telegraphs.
Mr Groves' responsibilities include administration of the work of Seanad Éireann and provision of procedural advice to the Cathaoirleach and Senators. He is also the Returning Officer for Seanad elections. He is a native of Dublin.
Ms Geraldine Feeney, former member of Seanad Éireann, has been appointed by the Government to serve as an “ordinary member” of the Commission for a six-year term, effective 9 December 2020. Ms Feeney served in the Seanad from 2002 until 2011. She was a member of the Irish Medical Council from 1999 to 2004. During her membership of the Irish Medical Council, she served a term as Chairperson of their Ethics Committee and was the first lay person to hold this position.
The structure of the Standards Commission is set out in the Standards in Public Office Act 2001.
The Commission must be chaired by a current or former judge of either the Supreme Court or the High Court. The Chairperson is appointed by the President of Ireland for a six year term.
Four members of the Commission are considered "ex-officio" members - that is, they are automatically members due to their "day jobs". These include the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Ombudsman, the Clerk of Dáil Éireann and the Clerk of Seanad Éireann.
Finally, an "ordinary member" of the Commission is appointed by the government, following resolutions of both Houses of the Oireachtas. This member must be a former member of either the Dáil or the Seanad, and is appointed for a six year term.