Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 July 2004
196 Mr. Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the way in which the board of SEI is constituted; if he will provide details of the experience of board members; and the duration of their term of office. [20955/04]
Amharc ar fhreagra197 Mr. Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources his plans to nominate a representative from the Irish Wind Energy Association to the board of SEI. [20956/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 196 and 197 together.
The Sustainable Energy Act 2002 formally established Sustainable Energy Ireland as the statutory independent agency with responsibility for promoting the development of sustainable and renewable energy in Ireland.
The board of Sustainable Energy Ireland was constituted with effect from 1 May 2002, when the authority was formally established. There are 12 members on the board, including the chairman and chief executive. Section 10 (9) of the Sustainable Energy Act 2002 provides that on the third anniversary of the establishment day, 1 May 2002, and thereafter, on each anniversary of the establishment day, three of the members of the board shall retire from office. The first retirements from the board are therefore scheduled for 2005. The term of office for the chairman is five years from 2002 and the chief executive serves as an ex officio member of the board. The Department’s representative on the board was appointed in December 2003, following his assignment to the renewable and sustainable energy division. His appointment is for a period of three years.
There are no vacancies at present on the board of Sustainable Energy Ireland. The current board members and their experience are as follows: Frank Convery, chairman, is heritage trust professor of environmental studies, University College, Dublin. He was previously research professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin, and associate professor of natural resource economics at Duke University North Carolina; John Buckley is a property developer, auctioneer and surveyor, with 25 years business experience. He is a board member of John Buckley Auctioneers, Killarney Race Company and the advisory committee of the Environmental Protection Agency; Gerry Cahill is managing director of Gerry Cahill Architects and co-director of Urban Projects Limited. He has been involved since the 1980s in the design of urban renewal and social housing projects in Dublin city and county. Prior to joining the board of SEI he was a director of Energy Action Limited. He has taught design and technology at the School of Architecture UCD since 1979; Bill Flood is a safety and environmental consultant, and was previously manager of Irish Fertiliser Industries in Arklow, where he worked for 17 years. He has considerable experience of energy intensive process manufacturing, and has special interest in performance auditing, benchmarking and negotiated agreements; Vicky Heslop has been involved in promoting sustainable development since 1986. She has been the managing director of Methan O Gen Limited, a specialist biogas consultancy and development company, since 1994. She is vice president and a founder member of the Irish Bioenergy Association; Martin Finucane is principal officer in the sustainable energy division of the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. His responsibilities include climate change issues in the energy sector, the promotion of renewable energy and end-use energy efficiency policy. He previously worked in the social security area of the public service; John McMullan is the executive director of the Northern Ireland Charity Bryson House, where his responsibilities include financial management, strategic planning and business development. His positions also include vice-chairman of the environmental bodies' council, ebco, and vice-chairman of the Belfast healthy cities project; David Naughton is the national industrial officer with the Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union. David has national responsibility for the ESB and the national joint industrial council for the electrical contracting industry. He has additional responsibility for the Dublin No. 3 and Limerick No. 2 branches; Michael Nicholson is director of environmental services with Wicklow County Council. He previously worked with Meath and Leitrim County Councils, Cork Corporation, and with Trim and Arklow town councils. He was also previously a director of the mid-east regional authority; Claire O'Connor is the director of the National Disability Authority. She is a director of West LB Covered Bond Bank, and was for 12 years a director of ICC Bank and chair of the ICC audit committee. She is a past CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce and was previously head of corporate finance at Irish Life plc; Pat O'Malley is a civil engineer with extensive experience in property development and project management. He has also served as a special adviser to the Minister for Energy, 1989-1992, and is a former opposition spokesperson for energy, transport, and communications, Dáil Éireann 1987-89; David Taylor is chief executive of SEI and an ex officio member of the board. Prior to his appointment, he was the director of the Irish Energy Centre. He qualified as a chemical engineer and holds an MSc in management from Trinity College Dublin. He is active in European energy matters and is a member of the IEA committee on energy research and technology.
