Eddie Lewis (Chairperson)
Eddie Lewis worked in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage for most of his professional career. Over this time, he worked in several sections of the Department including as Principal Officer for a number of areas of housing policy. He is currently working as an Associate Lecturer with the Institute of Public Administration where he leads the Housing Studies Professional Diploma and Certificate Courses.
He has spoken and written articles on a range of housing topics and is author of Competing in an Uncertain World. Institutional Change in the Irish State, which was published in 2010, and Social Housing Policy in Ireland. New Directions [2019].
Dr. Oonagh Breen
Oonagh Breen is a Professor of Law at the Sutherland School of Law, University College Dublin. A graduate of UCD and Yale Law School, her research focuses on comparative charity law regulation and governance. She has worked with the non-profit sector, charity regulators and policymakers in a number of jurisdictions (including Ireland, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada).
Oonagh is a former President of the International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR) and is a member of the international advisory council to the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL). She is the author of the Enlarging the Space for European Philanthropy Report (DAFNE & EFC, 2018) and co-author of Breen and Smith, Law of Charities in Ireland (Bloomsbury, 2019).
Jillian Mahon
Jillian Mahon is an experienced executive and non-executive director with wide ranging general and specialist management experience across the private, public, and international finance sector. Since 2019 she has been an independent business and financial consultant working in an advisory capacity in both the public and private sector both domestically and in EU, particularly in areas of risk management and sustainability.
Previously Jillian held senior roles in the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), initially with the National Pension Reserve Fund/Irish Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) and from 2014 on the project team establishing the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI). Prior to these roles, Jillian had an extensive career in capital markets banking and held the role of Treasurer in AIB. She was appointed to the Climate Change Advisory Council in 2021 and holds a number of directorship/trustee roles in philanthropic and charitable organisations. Jillian holds a BA, MBA, Prof Dip in Corporate Governance and Certificate in Sustainable Finance.
Geraldine Hynes
Geraldine Hynes is a solicitor and accredited mediator with many years’ experience in general practice, legal education, regulation and equality law.
Since 2012, Geraldine has worked as a mediator and alternative dispute resolution consultant and is a volunteer mediator with Community Law and Mediation Services. She assisted for many years as a volunteer solicitor with Mercy Law Resource Centre, dealing with issues of housing and homelessness. From 2012 to 2023 Geraldine chaired tribunals under the Mental Health Acts. She was a member of the inaugural board of the Workplace Relations Commission from its establishment in 2015 until 2021. She is also currently a Board member of the Property Services Regulatory Authority.
John McCarthy
John McCarthy is a former civil servant of some 35 years’ experience. He was Secretary General of the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, subsequently reconfigured as the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, for over 6 years until June 2020. Prior to this, John served as Assistant Secretary leading the Department’s Local Government, Environment and Housing Divisions for various periods of time.
He previously served as Principal Officer in a number of the Department’s areas of activity, including affordable housing and waste management. He joined the Department in 1991, having previously worked in a number of other departments, including the Department of Social Protection and the Central Statistics Office.
He has a primary degree and a postgraduate diploma in management and a master’s degree in public administration. He currently holds a number of non-executive public sector roles including as Chair of the Management Board of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management, Chair of the National Biodiversity Data Centre and as Chair/Member of the Audit Committees of a number of public bodies.
Michael Cameron
Michael is the Chief Executive of the Scottish Housing Regulator, the regulator of Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) and local authority housing services in Scotland.
His career has centred on the provision of social housing, public health, and welfare services, with the last twenty years in the inspection and regulation service of the Scottish Housing Regulator and its predecessor organisations.
Michael was educated at the University of Glasgow.
Seamus Neely
Seamus served as Chief Executive of Donegal County Council from July 2010 until July 2020 and has extensive experience in the delivery and oversight of the various regulatory frameworks for which the Local Government Sector is responsible. Seamus also has extensive board experience in the public and community sectors.
He started his public service career with Donegal County Council before moving to various Local Government roles in Monaghan and Cavan. Seamus holds an honours degree in Business Studies from Ulster University and an MBA from Dublin City University. Seamus has broad experience at a senior management level in operations and general management particularly in the Local Government Sector.
He is currently a Board Member of the Land Development Agency and City of Derry Airport Company and is Chair of the Forestry Appeals Committee. Seamus has previously served as a board member at Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the Local Government Management Agency in addition to several Community CLGs.
Nicola Dunleavy
Nicola Dunleavy is a Senior Counsel. She is a solicitor with more than 30 years’ experience and a Chartered Tax Advisor. Nicola
served as a member of the London Court of International Arbitration until 2024. She is a former President of Arbitration Ireland and serves on the board.
As a senior partner in Matheson LLP, Nicola was co-head of the Disputes and Investigations Group and head of the Planning, Environmental and Safety Group. Nicola has a wide-ranging commercial litigation and investigations practice, including public and administrative law, Constitutional law and regulatory issues. She is an advocate in alternative dispute resolution. Nicola leads advice to developers across all sectors including housing and infrastructure. She is a law graduate of Trinity College, Dublin (LLB) and holds a masters (LLM in Comparative, European and International Laws) from the European University Institute in Italy.
Ken Owens
Ken Owens is a seasoned expert in international financial services, with over two decades of experience, including 23 years as a
Partner at PwC Ireland. He led the Asset and Wealth Management Regulatory Advisory Group, advising clients on regulatory compliance, corporate governance, risk management, and authorisation in Ireland’s funds sector. Ken has deep knowledge of Central Bank of Ireland requirements and has contributed to regulatory reviews, compliance, and fund authorisation projects. He has chaired industry working groups to enhance Ireland’s global standing in fund administration and distribution.
Ken has supported both established and start-up service providers in navigating Irish regulations, collaborating with the Central Bank, conducting gap analyses, drafting governance frameworks, and steering authorisation applications. He now acts as a strategic advisor and mentor to new companies in the Irish funds sector and serves as a non-executive director and Audit Committee member for State Bodies and a charity.
Sean Cremen
Sean Cremen currently works as an independent business financial advisor and holds a Management Degree from the Irish 
Management Institute.
Sean is an experienced finance executive having worked for the Housing Finance Agency as Head of Treasury for over ten years. In this role, Sean had direct responsibility for all lending activity with the Approved Housing Bodies and has extensive knowledge of the sector.
Previously Sean served as an Executive Director on the Board of AIB Mortgage Bank and worked for Allied Irish Banks for many years in senior Treasury, Credit and Risk Management roles across a number of jurisdictions.