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Minister Lawless appoints Brigid Mc Manus as Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Skillnet Ireland along with new Board Directors

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Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science James Lawless TD announced his appointment of Brigid McManus as the first Ministerial appointed Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Skillnet Ireland for a three-year term. The Minister also appointed Conor Healy, as nominated by Chambers Ireland, Joanne Somers as nominated by Ibec, AJ Noonan as nominated by the Small Firms Association along with Ellen Roche to serve three-year terms.

Skillnet Ireland supports businesses to become more competitive by supporting them to access upskilling and reskilling solutions for their employees. It supports the development of national policy in relation to workforce development and designs upskilling solutions to meet future skills needs in a mobile skills landscape. It is funded by the National Training Fund, through the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

Speaking today, Minister Lawless said:

"I am delighted to appoint these new Directors to the Board of Skillnet Ireland. Skillnet Ireland plays a central role in responding to Ireland’s evolving skills needs and in driving innovation across workforce development. Strong leadership at Board level is essential as we work to ensure that businesses and workers have the skills required to thrive in a rapidly changing economy.

"I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Brendan McGinty for his outstanding contribution to Skillnet Ireland over the past twenty years, in particular, since 2015, when he became Chairperson. Brendan's commitment to improving Ireland’s labour market and skills infrastructure is commendable.

"I’d also like to acknowledge Ian Talbot, Mairead Divilly and Carol Ann Casey for their contributions to the work of the Board of Directors."

The Minister went on to say:

"I am delighted to appoint Brigid as my first Ministerial appointment to the role of Chairperson, and her expertise and experience will greatly support both the Board and the Executive. I want to thank the new Directors for their commitment and look forward to the valuable contribution they, along with Brigid as Chairperson, will make at this important time of transformation and opportunity."

Mark Jordan, Chief Executive, Skillnet Ireland said

"I would like to extend a warm welcome to our new Chairperson Brigid McManus, whose expertise and leadership will be of great value to Skillnet Ireland, and to the newly appointed Board Directors, joining Skillnet Ireland as we deliver upon our recently launched Statement of Strategy for 2026-2028 to support the competitiveness of Irish businesses and skills development of Ireland's talented workforce. I would also like to extend our sincere gratitude to our outgoing Chairperson, Brendan McGinty, whose deep commitment and contribution to the organisation has been instrumental to its progress and growth."

The Board of Directors act as stewards of Skillnet Ireland and have the authority and duty to manage the affairs and business of Skillnet Ireland and its subsidiary, Skillnets Services DAC. The Board provides leadership in setting Skillnet Ireland’s long-term strategic direction, and to approve and monitor Skillnet Ireland’s overall strategic plan, operating goals, operating budget, performance indicators and the business plans established to achieve them.

Notes

New Nominees Appointed

Brigid McManus

Brigid McManus is a former Secretary-General of the Department of Education and Skills who also held senior roles in the Department of Finance and the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht. Currently she is a member of the Governing Body of the National College of Ireland and an external member of the University of Galway Audit and Risk Committee. Previous roles include Chairperson of National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), Chairperson of Judicial Planning Working Group, Board member of Children's Health Ireland (CHI), Chairperson of Health Research Consent Declaration Committee(HRCDC),  Board member of CoisCeim Dance Theatre, Member of Cork Local Government Implementation Oversight Group, Chairperson of Audit Committee of the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and Chairperson of Grangegorman Labour and Learning Forum.

Ellen Roche

Between 2001 and 2025, Ellen led the Executive Search practice at PwC Ireland, advising Boards across the public, private and not for profit sectors on senior appointments. Prior to this she established and developed a Public Sector Practice at Osborne Recruitment. Ellen began her career as a teacher of French and Economics, before moving into EU programme management on behalf of the Department of Education and Youth, the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment and Inland Fisheries Ireland (the Central Fisheries Board). Ellen currently serves on the Board of St Laurence O’Toole’s Special Secondary School as the nominee of the Archbishop of Dublin.

Conor Healy

Conor Healy took up the position as Chief Executive of Cork Chamber of Commerce in 2006 and has over 30 years of experience in enterprise development across the public and private sectors. Prior to joining Cork Chamber Conor worked with Ireland’s inward investment agency IDA Ireland playing a lead role in the strategic development of the South West region and the winning of new foreign direct investment. Previously he worked with Enterprise Ireland holding responsibility for the development of the indigenous software and international services sector and has also worked in business development with the micro enterprise sector. He also serves as the promoter of Cork Chamber Skillnet and has extensive board and stakeholder engagement experience. He holds a BSc, MSc and MBA from University College Cork and a Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors.

Joanne Somers

Joanne Somers is the Managing Director of Johnsons Ireland, part of Johnson Service Group PLC, overseeing a multi-site linen services business employing over 600 people. She is a Chartered Management Accountant and previously served as Financial Director of Celtic Linen. She serves on Ibec regional and sectoral committees and on the Strategic and IT Committees of New Ross Credit Union.

AJ Noonan

AJ Noonan is the Managing Director of Rhonellen Developments, where he has led large property development projects since 2003. He previously served two terms as a Non-Executive Director of the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, including roles on the Audit and Risk Committee and as Chair of the Remuneration Committee. He also served on the Board of the Small Firms Association for 14 years, including four as Chair.

About Skillnet Ireland

Skillnet Ireland Company Limited by Guarantee was established by Government in 1999 in recognition of the need to raise the skills levels of those in employment, by working directly with industry sectors in an enterprise-led manner. Skillnet Ireland is an aegis body of DFHERIS and is funded from the National Training Fund. The primary aim of Skillnet Ireland is to increase participation in enterprise training by companies to upskill the workforce and provide greater access for workers to skills development. Skillnet Ireland conforms to requirements set out in the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies.

At entity level, Skillnet Ireland is a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Act, 2014.

Changes to the structure of the Board of Directors

In May 2024, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Skills requested Skillnet Ireland to examine how the Minister’s role in appointing Board members could be strengthened. Skillnet Ireland subsequently submitted a revised Board structure proposal, which Minister Lawless approved in 2025.

The new structure balances the organisation’s enterprise‑led ethos with strong employee representation, while recognising the central governance and funding role of Government.

Under the revised structure:

The Minister will appoint one nominee to serve as Chairperson of the Board.
Twelve additional Board members will be appointed by the Minister, comprising:
Five employer representatives
Three employee representatives
Four Ministerial nominees with specialised skills and expertise relevant to Skillnet Ireland’s mission

This new structure strengthens governance, ensures broad stakeholder input, and aligns Skillnet Ireland to deliver effectively on its role in workforce development.

Fees payable to Directors of the Board

The Chairperson of Skillnet Ireland is paid €11,970 per annum. Ordinary members of the Skillnet Ireland Board of Directors are paid a fee of €7,695 per annum. It should be noted that, in line with the ‘One Person, One Salary’ principle, no public servant is entitled to receive remuneration in the form of board fees, save for situations that are statutorily provided for e.g. Worker Directors.