Audit and Evaluation Committee

The Audit and Evaluation Committee (the Committee) of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (the Department) is formally appointed by and advises the Secretary General of the Department, who is the Accounting Officer for Vote 27 (International Cooperation) and Vote 28 (Foreign Affairs and Trade).

The functions of the Committee are to provide advice and independent appraisal of the audit and evaluation arrangements of the Department, with a view to strengthening governance, risk management, and internal controls, as well as helping to enhance the effective operation of the evaluation and audit function.

The Committee meets with representatives of the Comptroller and Auditor General at least once a year and these meetings essentially involve the sharing of information and views. The Committee has no direct involvement in the annual audit of the financial statements for the Department’s votes conducted by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, but does review comments on internal control, and tracks the implementation of any recommendations made.

The Committee also refers to guidance provided by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to ensure compliance with the role of Audit Committees in central government.

The Committee has an advisory role with no executive functions, responsibilities, or powers and whilst it reviews and comments on, it has no role in approving evaluation or audit reports. It does not have any responsibility or involvement in the review or approval of annual financial statements for the Department’s Votes.

The role of the Committee is set out in its Charter, which was updated in May 2026.

The Committee has a Chair and at least four ordinary members, all of whom will be drawn from outside the Department. Current members have backgrounds in audit, risk management, official development assistance, social research, asset and fund management, and senior-level public administration. The Committee usually meets at least five times a year.

The members are:

Dr Susan Murphy - Chairperson

Dr Susan Murphy, Fellow of Trinity College Dublin, is an Associate Professor of International Development Practice and Director of Research for the School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College. She is the Principal Investigator of GEOFORMATIONS, a European Research Council funded research project examining governance processes and relations in development cooperation practices. Susan is also Chair of the Development Studies Association of Ireland and member of the Executive Committee of the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (Appointed Chair June 2026).

Mr Derek Moran

Derek Moran is a former Secretary General of the Department of Finance (Reappointed September 2024).

Dr Nicolas Marcoux

Dr Nicolas Marcoux is a key expert for the Meldea project, providing assistance to the European Union Commission on external relations. He is a former senior Governance Specialist at the Institute of Public Administration. Prior to joining the IPA, Nicolas worked for the European Union Commission in various development and assistance capacities in central and eastern Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. (Reappointed June 2026).

Prof Anne Matthews

Prof Anne Matthews is a Full Professor of Nursing at the School of Nursing, Psychotherapy & Community Health at Dublin City University. She has worked in nursing, midwifery, health and social research, education, policy and practice in Ireland, England, and Malawi. (Reappointed September 2026).

Mr David Holohan

David has worked in the asset and fund management industry across a range of roles, including Head of Research and Chief Investment Officer. A Harvard Business School alumnus, David graduated from the General Management Program and was awarded the Harvard Business School Advanced Corporate Director Certificate. David is also a graduate of both Imperial College London, holding an MBA with Merit, and from University College Dublin. David is a Chartered Director (UK) and a Certified Investment Fund Director (Ireland). He is a non-executive director of the Bon Secours Health System Ireland, a board member of the National Transport Authority and Chairman of the Board of the Dublin Dental University Hospital (Appointed June 2026).

Ms Veronica Rahneberg

Veronica is the founder of Innovera, a Dublin-based advisory firm specialising in AI governance and commercial growth. A former Partner at EY Ireland and Sales & Marketing Director of Fujitsu Ireland, she brings thirty years of commercial and technology leadership across public sector and enterprise clients. She is a Module Director at Trinity Business School and commences an Executive DBA at the Kemmy Business School, University of Limerick, in September 2026, researching board-level AI governance under the EU AI Act (Appointed June 2026).

The Committee provides an annual report to the Secretary General and, subject to their approval, the report is published on the Department’s website and circulated to key stakeholders as appropriate. This report outlines the work of the Committee during the year, and includes observations and recommendations of the Committee, together with a brief prospective for the coming year.

Read the annual reports of the Committee.

The Committee is supported by a Secretariat which is provided by the Department’s Evaluation and Audit Unit.