DDDA Chairperson and Board appointed

Mr. Dick Roche, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has announced the appointment of Mr. Donal O'Connor as Chairperson of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority.

Mr. O'Connor is Senior Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Ireland and is a member of the Global Board of PwC and Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers Eurofirms Board. He is also a member of the Board of the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA) and is Administrator of Icarom Plc - formerly the Insurance Corporation of Ireland.

The Minister also announced the appointment of four directors to the Executive Board of the Authority. They are -

* Mr. Donal Curtin, Partner, Byrne, Curtin, Kelly Ltd, Chartered Accountants;
* Mr. Brendan Malone, Partner, Malone Power & Company, Chartered Accountants;
* Ms. Mary Moylan, Assistant Secretary, Department of the Environment Heritage and Local Government - and
* Ms. Niamh O'Sullivan, Partner, Arup Consulting Engineers.

Mr. Malone is a new appointment. The other three appointees were members of the outgoing Executive Board.

"Without a doubt, the rejuvenation of the Dublin Docklands is one of the most challenging development projects of recent times" - said the Minister. "On its establishment in 1997, the Authority was charged with the regeneration and development of some 1,300 acres of docklands that historically had been neglected, run down and, in many ways, isolated from the city proper.

"The vision was one of integrated physical, economic and social regeneration - the creation of a world-class city quarter - commercially vibrant and socially cohesive - that would be an asset to Ireland as a whole, and Dublin in particular. This was to be achieved within a 15-year period.

"The Authority has now entered the final third of its 15-year programme of regeneration of the Docklands area and, while its recently published 2006 Annual Report notes that much has already been achieved, the Authority is still pursuing complex and problematic objectives. An exciting challenge remains. That is why I am delighted that Donal O'Connor has accepted my invitation to become Chairperson of the Authority. I believe he has the skills and commitment to complete the excellent work undertaken by his predecessor."