Appointment of Non-Executive Board Members within the Department of Justice

Seven Non-Executive Board Members (NEBMs) have been appointed to the Boards of the Department of Justice and Agencies.

All seven members took up appointment on 1 August 2024 for a three-year term until 31 July 2027.

Colm McKenna and Catherine Dolliver have been appointed as Non-Executive Board Members (NEBMs) to the Department of Justice Departmental Management Board.

Paul Mageean and John McDaid have been appointed to the Management Board of the Legal Services Agency Northern Ireland.

Bonnie Anley and Michael Keating have been appointed to the Leadership Board of Forensic Science Northern Ireland.

Edgar Jardine has been appointed to the Management Board of the Northern Ireland Prison Service.

Every government department and Agency in Northern Ireland has a Management Board which supports the Accounting Officer in the discharge of his or her obligations as set out in Managing Public Money Northern Ireland. 

The primary role of NEBMs is to contribute to the good governance of the organisation. They offer constructive challenge across the organisation’s business with a view to ensuring that all aspects of strategy and delivery of policy are scrutinised for effectiveness and efficiency.

Biogs

Colm McKenna

Following a long and successful career in Financial Services, which included leadership positions in Corporate Treasury, International Banking, Trade Finance and Marketing, Mr McKenna retired from the industry in 2008.

He is a former Chair of the NI Public Sector Chairs Forum and the NI Confederation for Health and Social Care. He has served as Chair and Non-Executive Director across a range of large public sector organisations including Chair of South Eastern HSC Trust, Chair of the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Chair of the NI Food Advisory Committee and Board Member for the NI Food Standards Agency. He also served as Non-Executive Director and/or Chair of Audit Committee at the NI Assembly Secretariat, NI Courts and Tribunal Services, ILEX URC Ltd and the NI Policing Board. Mr McKenna was a Department for the Economy Non-Executive Director from 2017 until February 2023 and served as Interim Chair to the Board of Invest NI until February 2024.

Catherine Dolliver

Catherine has spent most of her career working in Professional Services as a Chartered accountant specialising in Forensic accounting and corporate governance investigations, both locally and internationally with PwC. 

In recent years Catherine combined her passion for health and wellbeing (as a qualified Personal Trainer) with her professional services skills, becoming the Wellbeing Leader for PwC in Northern Ireland, and setting up her own Health and Wellbeing Consultancy business. Catherine holds an MBA from the Ulster University and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ireland. She is also a Board Member for the Commonwealth Games NI.

Paul Mageean

Paul is a qualified solicitor from Belfast. He spent some time in private practice and also spent almost ten years working as the Legal Officer with the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), the leading human rights organisation in Northern Ireland. More recently he was the Director of the Institute of Professional Legal Studies at Queens University Belfast. He is currently the Chief Parole Commissioner in Northern Ireland. He is also a member of the Policing Authority in the Republic of Ireland and he also chairs the Public Interest Litigation Support (PILS) Project which seeks to support strategic litigation in the human rights and equality field.

John McDaid

John qualified as a solicitor in Dublin and worked in private practice in Dublin and in Sydney, Australia, before spending almost 30 years with the Legal Aid Board in Ireland. He served as a managing solicitor in a number of its law centres specialising in child care, family law and international protection. He then served as its Head of Legal Operations, with responsibility for its network of law centres and private legal suppliers, and as its Chief Executive (2014 to 2023) with responsibility for the provision of its family mediation as well as its legal services. He is a board member of Oberstown Campus Detention Centre and of a local community law centre in Ballymun, Dublin.

Bonnie Anley

Bonnie holds an MA from Trinity College Dublin and an MSc from Queens University Belfast. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors and an accredited Chartered Director. Bonnie is Chairperson of Libraries NI (appointed in January 2024) and she is a Lay Board Member with the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (first appointed April 2020).  She has been a Member of the Broadcasting Council with the BBC, Council Member with the Irish Ships Agents’ Association, Board Member with Southern Group Enterprises, Board Member for Warrenpoint Harbour Authority, Board Member of Friends of the Earth Trust and Chairperson of Friends of the Earth Limited (England, Wales and Northern Ireland), Chairperson of the Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service, and Chairperson of Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners. Bonnie is a committee member of the Institute of Directors, Northern Ireland Committee. She is also a committee member of the Public Sector Chairs’ Forum.

Michael Keating

Mike brings over 20 years’ experience of risk and governance gained in the public, private and voluntary sectors, completed the NI Board Apprentice scheme in 2023, and is looking forward to supporting FSNI in progressing its vision to be a world class provider of integrated forensic science services.

Edgar Jardine

Edgar is a former Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency and has served at Deputy Secretary level in the Office of the First  and Deputy First Minister and in the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure and as Interim Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Policing Board. He was awarded the CBE in 2012 for public service.

Since retirement from the Northern Ireland Civil Service Mr Jardine has served in a number of non-executive roles. He recently completed a 4 year term of office as an Independent Member of the NI Policing Board. Current appointments include Chairing the Stranmillis University College Governing Body and the Department of Finance’s Statistics Advisory Committee.

Notes to editors: 

1. The Department of Justice, together with its Agencies, Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) and stakeholders, supports the Minister of Justice in delivering on the mission of working in partnership to create a fair, just and safe community where we respect the law and each other. The Department has a range of devolved policing and justice functions as set out in the Northern Ireland Act 1998 (Devolution of Policing and Justice Functions) Order 2010. The Department is responsible for the resourcing, legislative and policy framework of the justice system.
2. The seven Non-Executive Board members have been appointed to the Boards of the Department of Justice, Legal Service Agency of Northern Ireland, Forensic Science Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Prison Service.
3. Non-Executive Board Members are paid a fee of £500 per day.
4.  All appointments are made on merit. Political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity to be made public. All appointees have declared no recent political activity.
5. For media enquiries please contact the DoJ Press Office by Email press.office@justice-ni.gov.uk
6. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service For Media Enquiries Only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.

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