PRESS RELEASE : Secretary of State announces appointment of Chair and two Members to the Board of the Northern Ireland Fishery Harbour Authority (NIFHA) [December 2023]

The press release issued by the Northern Ireland Office on 12 December 2023.

The Secretary of State, the Rt Hon. Chris Heaton-Harris MP, has today announced the appointment of Mr Stephen Welch as the new Chairperson of the Northern Ireland Fishery Harbour Authority and Mr Maynard Mawhinney and Siobhan McCauley as Board Members. In the absence of Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive, this appointment was made under the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2022.

The new Chairperson and two Members will take up their positions on 18 December 2023.

Stephen Welch has extensive experience in the public, private and third sectors at strategic and Board level. He has worked in a number of senior roles across the Defence, Government administration, Higher Education and Health Sectors, specialising in Capital Development, Estate and Facilities Management, Procurement, Contract Management, and Risk Management. Stephen is currently a Non-Executive Member of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) and chair of its Audit and Risk Assurance Committee.

Maynard Mawhinney has held a number of senior roles in the agri-food industry, as a Director and Business Consultant and Coach, with expertise in marketing and growth. He is an experienced Board Member and currently holds a Non-Executive Director position on the South-Eastern Health & Social Care Trust and is the current Chair of the College Advisory Group (CAG) at the College of Agriculture, Farming and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE). He has also recently been appointed to Chair the review of roles and responsibilities of Councillors in NI.

Siobhan McCauley brings significant experience from senior roles across the public and private sectors.  With a background in tourism, economic and business development, she has considerable experience in financial management, corporate governance and strategic planning, most recently from her long-standing role as the Director of Regional Services at the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and before this, Director of Product Development at the Northern Ireland Tourist Board of the Signature Projects which included the Titanic and Causeway Visitor Attraction.

Details of body

The Northern Ireland Fishery Harbour Authority is an Executive non-departmental public body (Executive NDPB) sponsored by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).  It was established in 1973 under the Harbours Act (Northern Ireland) 1970 and the Northern Ireland Fishery Harbour Authority Order (Northern Ireland) 1973 and has responsibility for the fishery harbours and harbour estates of Ardglass, Kilkeel and Portavogie.

Terms Of Appointment

• The Chair role requires approximately 30-32 days per annum.
• The Member role requires approximately 16-18 days per annum.
• The Chair and Member appointments to the NIFHA are for a four-year term.
• The Chairperson post is remunerated at £10,776 per annum and the Member positions are remunerated at £5,099 per annum.

Regulation

The procedure for these appointments is designed to adhere to the Code of Practice issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland.  This means that the process will be based on merit after a fair, open and transparent process that involves independent scrutiny.  A copy of the code can be found at:

https://www.publicappointmentsni.org/

Political Activity

All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland requires the political activity of appointees to be published. None of the appointees have declared any political activity in the last 5 years.