The Board of the ERC is responsible for the strategic direction of the Centre. The Board delegates operational responsibility for the day-to-day running of the ERC to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the ERC’s Management Team. The Board receives regular reports from the ERC’s Management Team and keeps itself up to date about strategic issues and changes affecting the ERC and the environment in which it operates.
In accordance with section 12 of the Establishment Order SI no. 392 of 2015, members of the Board are appointed by the Minister for Education. The Board is made of five independent non-executive Board members. The Minister designates one member of the Centre as chairperson and one member of the Centre as deputy chairperson of the Centre. Membership of the Board is unremunerated.
Board Membership
Mr Edward Murtagh, Chair
Edward Murtagh is a former Assistant Chief Inspector at the Department of Education, a role which encompassed coordinating policy advice across a broad range of areas including curriculum, assessment, Irish language education and national and international research projects. He was head of the Department’s Evaluation Support and Research Unit and represented the Department on a number of expert groups at national and at European Union level, including the OECD Expert Group on Assessment, which he co-chaired. He worked as Division Manager of the School Evaluation and Quality Assurance division of the Abu Dhabi Education Council. He has been a member of the Board of the Educational Research Centre since 2016 and chair of its Audit and Risk Committee since 2017.
Dr Sharon Feeney, Deputy Chair
Senior Lecturer in Technological University, Dublin with over 30 years’ experience in the Irish higher education sector. She is a Chartered Director and is a Board member (non-executive) of Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI). She is also a Board member (non-executive) of the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (2019-2023). Dr Feeney has published numerous book chapters and journal articles on the area of Higher Education Policy, Public Accountability and Governance, Student Experience in Higher Education, International Standards and Quality Assurance Systems for Higher Education, Higher Education Organisation Design, Culture and Structures.
Paula Fyans
Paula Fyans is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin and UCD Smurfit Graduate Business School. She is a qualified pharmacist with almost 20 years of experience in the Pharma industry at senior European level in the areas of Strategy, Medical Education and Scientific Publications. She has lectured in pharmaceutics and spent four years at Imperial College London as Director or Pharmaceutical Liaison, where she successfully established a commercial clinical trials unit, leveraging academic medical expertise in commercial collaborations. She is also the author of a book on gender equality and has worked as a consultant on Gender Equality and Women in Leadership with universities and commercial organisations around the world. Paula holds a Diploma in Corporate Governance (with Distinction) and is a member of the Institute of Directors. She is also actively involved in environmental sustainability and climate change initiatives at local and national level.
Dr Eilish Broderick
Dr Eilish Broderick is the Head of School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) at Munster Technological University. The School of STEM at MTU’s Kerry Campus is home to over 1,200 students and offers a range of educational opportunities in Science and Engineering at undergraduate, postgraduate and apprentice level together with a vibrant research community. Eilish’s avid interest in education began at the University of Limerick where she completed a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Science Education, following this, she completed an MSc and a PhD at the Institute of Technology Tralee. Eilish re-joined IT Tralee, now Munster Technological University (MTU), in 2014 as a lecturer in Science and subsequently joined the academic management team in 2016. Eilish is passionate about the development of educational opportunities to enhance access to learning for all. Eilish has spearheaded the development of a number of academic programmes at MTU.
Órla Barry
Órla is Head of Qualifications Information and Learning Opportunities at QQI. She is responsible for the development and implementation of strategy relating to the promotion, maintenance and further development of the National Framework of Qualifications and is a member of the European Qualifications Framework Advisory Group and National Correspondent for the Qualifications Framework for the European Higher Education Area. Órla is a Chartered Governance Professional holding Associate Membership of the Chartered Governance Institute of UK and Ireland. She is Chair of the Board of Directors of the UCD Students’ Union and a member of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland Education, Training and Standards Committee. Órla is an experienced public servant having previously held management roles in UCD and CORU.
Minutes of ERC Board Meetings:
28th Sep 2016: Click here for minutes.
14th Dec 2016: Click here for minutes.
25th Jan 2017: Click here for minutes.
22nd Mar 2017: Click here for minutes.
30th May 2017: Click here for minutes.
5th July 2017: Click here for minutes.
26th Sep 2017: Click here for minutes.
29th Nov 2017: Click here for minutes.
17th Jan 2018: Click here for minutes.
5th Mar 2018: Click here for minutes.
25th Apr 2018: Click here for minutes.
27th June 2018: Click here for minutes.
12th Sep 2018: Click here for minutes.
13th Nov 2018: Click here for minutes.
13th Feb 2019: Click here for minutes.
6th March 2019: Click here for minutes.
1st May 2019: Click here for minutes.
19th June 2019: Click here for minutes.
25th Sep 2019: Click here for minutes.
4th Dec 2019: Click here for minutes.
20th Feb 2020: Click here for minutes.
29th April 2020: Click here for minutes.
30th June 2020: Click here for minutes.
16th Sep 2020: Click here for minutes.
20th Oct 2020: Click here for minutes.
2nd Dec 2020: Click here for minutes.
18th Feb 2021: Click here for minutes.
13th April 2021: Click here for minutes.
29th June 2021: Click here for minutes.
13th Sep 2021: Click here for minutes.
2nd Nov 2021: Click here for minutes.
18th Feb 2022: Click here for minutes.
5th April 2022: Click here for minutes.
7th June 2022: Click here for minutes.
13th Sep 2022: Click here for minutes.
10th Nov 2022: Click here for minutes.
15th Dec 2022: Click here for minutes.
14th Feb 2023: Click here for minutes.
23rd June 2023: Click here for minutes.
Please note: all commercially sensitive information and personal matters will be removed from the ERC’s Board minutes before publishing.
Conduct of Conduct for ERC Board Members
The Code of Conduct for the ERC Board members sets down the general principles and standards, which govern the professional activities and conduct of the ERC Board members, thereby fulfilling the requirements for integrity, loyalty, confidentiality and fairness as well as maintaining a high level of public confidence in the organisation as a public body and employer. For further information on the Code of Conduct, please click here.
