PRESS RELEASE : Secretary of State announces appointment of a new member of the Board of the Northern Ireland Fishery Harbour Authority (NIFHA) [February 2024]

The press release issued by the Department for Northern Ireland on 2 February 2024.

The Secretary of State, Rt Hon Chris Heaton-Harris MP, has today announced the appointment of a new member of the Board of NIFHA.

The Secretary of State, the Rt Hon Chris Heaton-Harris MP, has today announced the appointment of Robert Ryans as a new member of the Northern Ireland Fishery Harbour Authority Board. In the absence of Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive, this appointment was made under the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2022.

Mr Ryans will take up the post on 12 February 2024.

Robert Ryans has extensive senior management experience in a highly competitive domain of the retail sector. He brings an in-depth knowledge of people development, strategic and financial planning and commercial and operational performance.

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 member role requires approximately 16-18 days per annum.
• The appointment is for a four-year term.
• The Member position is 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. The appointee has declared they have had no political activity in the last 5 years.

Notes to editors

1. The NIFHA was added by Statutory Instrument to the Northern Ireland Executive  Formation Act 2022 on 11 July 2023.
2. Media queries should be directed to the DAERA press office: pressoffice.group@daera-ni.gov.uk or phone 02890 524619.
3. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media  enquiries only between 1800 hrs and 0800 hrs Monday to Friday and at  weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028  9037 8110.