The Authority

The members of the Policing and Community Safety Authority were appointed by the Government following selection processes run by the Public Appointments Service.

The Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 provides for the Authority to have a total of nine members – a Chairperson and eight ordinary members. The composition of the Authority is in line with the statutory objective of there being at least four men and at least four women on the Authority.

The Act requires that Authority members should have appropriate experience, qualifications, training or expertise and knowledge in areas connected with:

policing services;
the criminal justice system
human rights, equality and diversity;
services for victims of crime;
healthcare, child and social services;
improving the safety of communities including through inter-agency collaboration and community
engagement to promote the prevention of crime and the prevention of harm to individuals, in particular those who are vulnerable or at risk
public sector administration
business and innovation
board management and corporate governance
data protection
financial management and, in particular, the allocation, management of and accountability for the effective use of financial resources.

The Authority is supported by the Executive which consists of a core team of staff headed up by Chief Executive Officer, Helen Hall.

Authority Members

Dr Elaine Byrne is a practising barrister on the South Eastern and Dublin Circuits with a
specialisation in Regulatory Law and Employment Law.

Dr Byrne has served as a member of the Policing Authority since March 2021 and was appointed as Chairperson from 1 January 2024.

She has acted as a consultant on governance matters for the European Commission, the
United Nations and the World Bank. Her book, “Political Corruption in Ireland 1922-2010: A Crooked Harp,” was published in 2012. She has served as a member of the Hamilton Review Group on Economic Crime and Corruption, and the Seanad Working Group on Reform.

Elaine Byrne (Chairperson)

Emma Reidy is CEO of Aoibhneas Domestic Abuse Support for women and Children since 2012. For 20 years Emma has worked and volunteered with non-for-profit organisations that support vulnerable people affected by prostitution, addiction, domestic abuse, and homelessness.

Emma has a bachelor’s (hons) degree in Social Science, master’s degree in Equality Studies, and master’s degree in business administration with additional qualifications in Human Resource Management, Group Facilitation, Supervision and Coaching.

Emma has concluded 2 terms as a Director in Safe Ireland and is a member of the National Observatory against Violence, National Women’s Council.

Emma Reidy

Freda McKittrick qualified as a social worker since 1985, and has practiced in the UK and Ireland. She was head of Barnardos Guardian ad litem service from 2000 to 2024. She continues to work as a Guardian ad Litem and Independent Social worker. She is a Board member of the Legal Aid Board and is a lay member to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal.

Freda McKittrick

Joe Costello is a former member of the Oireachtas (1989 to 2016). During that time, he served as a Senator, TD, and Minister of State for Trade and Development at the Department of Foreign Affairs. He also served as a Dublin City Councillor from 1991 to 2003 and more recently from 2019 to 2023. As a City Councillor, he was a member of the Grangegorman Development Agency, the City of Dublin Education and Training Board and Dublin City Council Joint Policing Committee.

Joe Costello

Ken O’Leary is a former senior official of the Department of Justice, where he worked in a wide range of areas during the course of a lengthy career, including prisons, law reform, crime, and security, culminating in his appointment as Deputy Secretary, Criminal Justice. He was a member of the interdepartmental group of officials responsible for advancing the Northern Ireland peace process and, in this context, co-chaired the Working Group of senior officials established under the Intergovernmental Agreement on Cooperation on Criminal Justice matters. More recently he served on the group established under the chairmanship of Mr. Justice Michael Peart to review the Offences Against the State Acts.

Ken O’Leary

Martina Moloney was a career official in Irish Local Government for thirty-seven years culminating in the role of County Manager/Chief Executive in County Louth and County Galway. She holds a BA and MA in Public Management and a Doctorate in Governance. Since retirement she served on the National Oversight and Audit Commission for Local Government, and a number of state agencies and Audit Committees and currently is Chairperson of the Heritage Council. She chaired the inaugural pilot Community Safety Partnership in Longford which developed the first Community Safety Plan.

Martina Moloney

Michael Feehan has in recent years worked on contract with the UN Office for Drugs and Crime in various countries including Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos and Nigeria. The focus of this work was on the development of Police and Community partnerships which was also the topic in his doctoral thesis.

Following his retirement from An Garda Síochána, Michael worked as Chief Security Officer for the Dublin Airport Authority from 2013-2017. He was previously Assistant Garda Commissioner for the Dublin Metropolitan Region (2009-2012) and Assistant Commissioner Northern Region (2008-2009).

Michael Feehan

Dr Nessa Lynch is an academic at the School of Law, University College Cork, specializing in law and technology, policing and youth justice. Originally from Cork, she spent most of her career in New Zealand, mainly in an academic role. She has held high-trust roles in data ethics and technology assurance in the public sector and consulted for a range of private sector and public sector clients. Prior to re-joining academia in 2024, she held a senior leadership position in New Zealand Police, covering the Royal New Zealand Police College and training quality assurance.

Nessa Lynch

Tony O’Brien is former Director General of the Health Service Executive (HSE). He was previously Chief Advisor to the HSE on implementing the National Cancer Control Strategy and Chairman of the National Cancer Registry Board. He was the founding CEO of the National Screening Service. Prior to the HSE, he was Chief Executive of the Irish Family Planning Association and the UK Family Planning Association. He is Adjunct Associate Professor with the Centre for Health Policy and Management, in the Discipline of Public Health, at the School of MedicineTrinity College Dublin . Tony serves on a number of health sector related boards in Ireland and internationally, including serving as Chair of Safety Net Primary Care Tony is a strategy and business consultant and is a member of the Beamtree Global Impact Committee. He contributes a regular health policy column to the Sunday Independent.

Tony is a registered EMT and is a community emergency first responder, on a voluntary basis, with the National Ambulance Service.

Tony O’Brien

Mark Jacobs

Director

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