Minister McEntee makes appointments to the Parole Board

The Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has today announced the expansion of the Parole Board from 13 to 15 members and has appointed Dr Lisa Cuthbert and Ms Justice Margaret Heneghan to the Board.

The Parole Board, established under the Parole Act 2019 on 31 July 2021, is an independent statutory body responsible for considering the eligibility for parole of people serving life sentences once they have served at least 12 years of their sentence.

The Parole Board, in accordance with section 10 of the Parole Act 2019, is composed of no fewer than 12 and no more than 15 members including the Parole Board Chairperson. The Minister has now approved the expansion of the membership of the Board from an original 13, bringing the membership up to 15 including the Chairperson. The appointment of the two additional Board members was made following a Public Appointments Service (State Boards) selection process.

In addition to these new appointments, the Minister is also reappointing the representatives of An Garda Síochána, the Bar Council, the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland and the Law Society each of whom has been re-nominated by their representative body.

The Minister also recently reappointed Ms Ann Reade and Mr Kieran Kenny for another 4 year term.

Minister McEntee said:

Under the Parole Act, the majority of members of the Parole Board are nominated by specified nominating bodies and specified post-holders as set out in Section 10, and appointed by the Minister for Justice in accordance with the relevant legislative provisions.

Ensuring gender balance among the membership is an important element of the process and is built into the legislation in a clear and constructive manner.

Section 10 of the Parole Act 2019 sets out the procedure for the selection and appointment of members to the Parole Board. 9 Board members were appointed following their nomination by specified nominating bodies and specified post holders as set out in the Act.

The Hon. Mr Justice Michael White following nominating by the Chief Justice is the inaugural Chair of the Parole Board since his appointment in 2021.

A further 9 Board members were appointed following their nomination by specified nominating bodies and specified post holders as set out in Section 10 of the Act.

In addition to this and following a Public Appointments Service (State Boards) selection process, the Minister for Justice appointed Ms. Ann Reade, Mr. Paddy Richardson and Mr. Kieran Kenny to the Parole Board in 2021, bringing the total Board membership to 13 (including the Chairperson).

Dr Lisa Cuthbert

Dr Cuthbert has been Chief Executive of Prisoner Aid through Community Effort (PACE) since 1999. Dr Cuthbert has developed an extensive programme of pre- and post-release services for life sentence and long-term sentence prisoners and has introduced a range of accommodation services for men leaving prison.

Ms Justice Margaret Heneghan

Ms Justice Margaret Heneghan retired as a High Court judge in 2017. She has had extensive experience of serving in a variety of courts. She was appointed to the panel of the Commission for Communications Regulation in 2004 and she also served on the Legal Aid Board.

Ms Ann Reade

Ms Reade is a CORU-registered Social Worker and has had thirty years’ experience of working as a social worker, in the Probation Service and most recently with Tusla. As a policy manager in the Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence Unit of Tusla, she worked with organisations delivering frontline services to victims.

In the Probation Service, Ms Reade developed and delivered training programmes to increase awareness of victims’ issues. She also contributed to the development of an all-island risk assessment system for sex offenders, which is used by An Garda Síochána and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the probation services north and south.

Ms Reade was appointed by the Minister following a Public Appointments Service (State Boards) selection process.

Mr Kieran Kenny

Mr Kenny holds a BA, an Adv.Dip.Mgt. and an MSc (UCD) and is a former Assistant Commissioner of An Garda Síochána. He has had extensive experience in the enforcement of law and the administration of justice. He is the current Chairperson of Victim Support at Court (V-SAC) and the Chairperson of CORU’s Education and Training and Review Teams.

Mr Kenny was appointed by the Minister following a Public Appointments Service (State Boards) selection process.

Dr Laura Mannion

Dr Mannion is a consultant psychiatrist and former Clinical Director with the HSE. She is a member of the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland and a Fellow of The Royal College of Psychiatrists. She has an extensive clinical background, has been a Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry in NUIG, with ongoing involvement in training of Psychiatrists with the COPI. She was appointed as a member of the interim Parole Board in 2017.

Dr Mannion was nominated by the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland.

Ms Sinéad McMullan BL

Ms McMullan has been a practising barrister since 1998, specialising in all aspects of criminal law (both prosecution and defence). She holds an LLB from Trinity College Dublin and a Master’s in Law from the University of Oxford.

Ms McMullan was nominated by the General Council of the Bar of Ireland.

Dr Shane McCarthy

Dr McCarthy is a practising solicitor, who has previously served as a member of the interim Parole Board. He serves as a member of the Criminal Law Committee of the Law Society of Ireland and has undertaken extensive research on the operation of parole in Ireland and internationally.

Dr McCarthy was nominated by the Law Society.

Chief Superintendent Brian Sugrue

Chief Superintendent Sugrue was nominated for membership of the Parole Board by the Garda Commissioner.