The FSPO Council
Part 4 of the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Act 2017 sets out the role of the FSPO Council, which has two main areas of responsibility. Firstly it is responsible under the legislation for setting the levy to be paid by financial service providers; and secondly it has certain oversight responsibilities in relation to the work of the FSPO, including its responsibilities in relation to:
- Approval of the Office's annual budget
- Approval of the Office's strategic plan
- Keeping under review the efficiency and effectiveness of the Ombudsman.
The Council has no role in dealing with complaints.
Code of Conduct
Members
The Members of the Council (April 2023) are:
Maeve Dineen (Chairperson)
Ms. Dineen is a strategic communications consultant and works with a number of Ireland’s most respected publicly listed companies. She holds an Agricultural Science degree from UCD and a Masters in Communications from Queens University/DCU. She attended Harvard University, Boston to complete its prestigious ‘Women on Boards’ executive programme.
A former journalist, Maeve has spent a significant part of her career in the media and was Business Editor of the Irish Independent newspaper from 2008-2014.
Valerie Bowens
Ms. Bowens (BComm, Master of Business Studies, Diploma in Financial Services Law (all from UCD), and Institute of Directors' qualification) has extensive senior compliance, risk, governance and regulatory experience, mainly in the financial sector. Currently a member of the Board of the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI), and Chairperson of its US subsidiary, NSAI Inc. She is also a Director of the Investor Compensation Company DAC, as well as being a member of Audit, Risk, Governance, Disciplinary and Complaints Committees for a range of organisations. Executive experience includes Managing Director and Country Head of Compliance at BNY Mellon, Director of Regulatory Compliance at Dillon Eustace Solicitors, Senior Manager at AIB, and Senior Regulator at the Central Bank. Current member of the Institute of Directors, the Institute of Bankers, and the Association of Compliance Officers in Ireland.
Ann Duffy
Ms. Duffy is an Independent Non-Executive Director and currently serves on the Board of the Rehab Group. In her executive career as Director Corporate Affairs at Fyffes plc, she gained extensive experience of pensions and familiarity with the regulatory framework in Ireland and the UK. She is experienced in both the theory and practice of good corporate governance through her role as an Independent Non-Executive Director and having attained the Institute of Directors Certificate and Diploma in Company Direction. She also has significant Audit and Risk Committee experience and currently chairs the Audit & Risk Committee for Rehab and is an external member of the Audit Committee of Trinity College Dublin.
Ms. Duffy is a law graduate of Trinity College Dublin and a fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland.
Don Gallagher
Mr. Gallagher is an experienced international Chief Executive who has managed and served on the boards of national and international insurance and wealth management companies. Until December 2020, he was Chief Executive of the Health Insurance Authority. Previous roles included Senior Vice-President and Managing Director of Canada Life Financial orporation’s operations in Canada and Ireland/Germany and was, subsequently, CEO of MetLife Europe DAC.
Mr. Gallagher holds a M.Sc. in Management from Trinity College, Dublin and a B.Sc. (Honours) Mathematics degree from the Open University. He is also a Chartered Director with the UK Institute of Directors.
Mick McAteer
Mr. McAteer is founder and co-director of The Financial Inclusion Centre, and a founding director of Action for Financial Inclusion. He is Chair of the anti-poverty charity Z2K, and non-profit Registry Trust. He is Deputy Chair of the Consumer Council of Northern Ireland and is on the board of charity Caritas Westminster.
Previously, he was a board member of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)/ Financial Services Authority (FSA), chaired the FCA’s External Risk and Strategy Committee (ERSC) and was also on the FCA’s Oversight and Audit Committees. He was Principal Policy Adviser at Which? (formerly known as Consumers’ Association) for 13 years and prior to this, he worked for two major fund management firms in London. He was a board member of the Financial Reporting Council’s Professional Oversight Board, a non-executive director of The Pensions Advisory Service, and a board member of ShareAction.
Ken Murnaghan
Mr. Murnaghan is a member of the management board of Finance Ireland, a privately owned financial services group specialising in property, motor, SME, and agrifinance. Previous roles include Head of Business Banking at Ulster Bank Group, and a number of other positions in France, Ireland, and Hong Kong with AIB, PWC, and EY.
Mr. Murnaghan is a business graduate of University College Dublin, a fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland, and a fellow of the Institute of Banking.
Peter Rossiter
Peter Rossiter spent over thirty-five years as a banker in OECD and emerging markets. These included assignments with Citigroup in Ireland, Middle East, UK, Belgium, Turkey, Russia and Poland before returning to Ireland in late 2009 to join the newly nationalised Anglo Irish Bank, followed by Allied Irish Bank p.l.c. where he was the Group Chief Risk Officer from 2012-2014. Since leaving AIB, Peter advised the Oireachtas on establishing an inquiry into the Irish banking crisis and completed various other consultancy and risk management assignments, including helping to launch Starling Bank as a challenger fintech bank in the UK as its first Chief Risk Officer and later as its international Chief Executive Officer. He is currently an independent non-executive director of The Rehab Group and independent non-executive chair of Owl Payments Europe, a TripAdvisor company.
Peter is a business graduate of Trinity College Dublin, a Chartered Accountant and holds a Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors.
