Council Members
| Council Member | Member Information |
|---|---|
| Miriam Bourke | Miriam Bourke has 25 years’ experience in the financial services industry, specialising in corporate pension scheme consultancy. She is Head of Member Engagement at Unio Employee Benefits & Deputy Head of Unio’s Cork Office. At Unio Employee Benefits, Miriam works in the corporate pension division providing consultancy for multinational corporate pension schemes and employee benefits solutions. This includes projects on redundancy programs, the impact of legislative changes, with a focus on member engagement and communication. A native of Cork, Miriam holds a BComm (Hons) from UCC, is a Qualified Financial Adviser (QFA), has a Professional Certificate in DC Pension Scheme Trusteeship, and was recognised in the Network Cork Businesswoman of the Year, Power within Champion Category. Miriam was appointed to the Pension Council of Ireland in February, 2025. |
| Deirdre Cummins (Chairperson) | Deirdre is an Of Counsel with Arthur Cox specialising in pensions and benefits law. Deirdre has over 20 years’ experience as a solicitor in private practice advising on all aspects of Irish pension arrangements both in the private and public sectors. Deirdre is a member and a former Chairman of The Association of Pension Lawyers in Ireland (APLI) and is a member of the International Pension and Employee Benefits Lawyers Association (IPEBLA). Deirdre has lectured on the Law Society Certificate Course in Pension Law and Practice and has tutored on pensions and related matters on the professional courses of the Law Society. |
| Olive Gaughan | Olive is an actuary and non-executive director in the Financial Services sector. She has worked for over 30 years in the life insurance industry and so has first-hand knowledge and experience of life insurance solutions for pension savings and associated risk management. She has a keen interest in the consumer and has been heavily engaged in work on the topic of “Policyholders Reasonable Expectations” with the Society of Actuaries in Ireland. |
| Brendan Kennedy | Brendan Kennedy is the Irish Pensions Regulator and chief executive of the Pensions Authority, which is the Irish statutory body responsible for regulating pensions and for providing pension policy advice to the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection. He has held this position since 2006. |
| Ciara McLoughlin | Ciara McLoughlin is a Consultant on the pensions team at William Fry LLP and she has a wealth of experience advising trustees and employers on pensions aspects of corporate M&A transactions, carrying out due diligence and advising on potential issues and solutions where pension liabilities may arise. She advises on the day-to-day management and administration of schemes including: scheme documentation amendments and benefit design, funding arrangements, liability management exercises such as buy-ins, winding up of schemes, GDPR implementation and pension disputes. She is the Chairperson of the Association of Pension Lawyers of Ireland, a qualified pension trustee, a member of the UK APL and has an understanding of UK pensions law after practising there for a number of years. |
| Rickard Mills | Rickard Mills is an Independent non-executive director, pension trustee and corporate affairs consultant. A highly qualified professional with over 20 years’ experience in the pensions industry, he is a non-executive director of Irish Pensions Trust, Ireland’s largest firm of professional trustees, and a member of the Board of the Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAPF). Rickard also holds non-executive directorships on the boards of the European Movement Ireland and Tolka Community Hub Clg. Having qualified with Deloitte in chartered accountancy and taxation he worked with KBC Bank Ireland for 26 years where his roles included Head of Group Taxation, Director of Corporate Affairs and Pension Schemes Trustee. His primary degree was in civil engineering from UCC and he qualified at IMI as an Executive Coach. Rickard established a corporate affairs business in 2015 and works with a wide range of clients across a variety of sectors. |
| Patrick Moran | Patrick is the representative from the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform. |
| Joanne Roche | Joanne is a pensions actuary and Director with KPMG. She has specialised in pensions for 20+ years and works on a wide variety of pension issues across the public and private sector. She co-authored the report into the actuarial review of the Social Insurance Fund in 2022, 2017 and 2012 on behalf of the Department of Social Protection. Joanne has a keen interest in ensuring the concerns of all stakeholders are reflected in pension solutions with a particular focus on the ultimate beneficiaries. |
| Grace von Offenberg Sweeney | Grace leads the Domestic and Actuarial Supervision Division in the Insurance Directorate of the Central Bank. She has over 20 years insurance experience across General Insurance and Life and Pensions sectors. She represents the Central Bank at the EU EIOPA risk and Financial Stability Committee and the Financial Industry Forum Domestic & Innovation subgroups. She joined the Central Bank in 2013 to lead the Actuarial Function within the Insurance Directorate. Previous to the Central Bank, she worked in industry for 12 years in a variety of actuarial and senior finance executive roles, including Head of Finance Europe, Head of Group Internal Audit, Investment and Pricing Actuarial roles. She is a fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, having qualified in the General Insurance field. |
| Colum Walsh | Colum is the representative from the Department of Social Protection. |