HEAnet and the Board of Directors
HEAnet, Ireland’s National Education and Research Network, was incorporated in November 1997. It has a subsidiary company EduCampus Services, which was incorporated in April 2015 to deliver quality IT, shared services to the Higher Education sector.
Following the commencement of The Companies Act 2014, HEAnet and EduCampus Services converted to new company types during 2016. HEAnet converted to a Company Limited by Guarantee and Not Having a Share Capital, and the new company name (including the abbreviated company type) is HEAnet CLG.
Given the group structure, EduCampus Services converted to a Designated Activity Company (DAC) as it is a company with a majority share capital held by HEAnet. As part of the same conversion process, each company adopted a new Constitution to replace their previous Memorandum and Articles of Association.
Both companies have charitable tax status and are registered with the Charities Regulatory Authority.
The ordinary members and directors of HEAnet and EduCampus Services are appointed in accordance with their Constitution and company law.
The directors of HEAnet and EduCampus Services are collectively responsible for promoting the success of their companies by leading and directing its activities. Both Boards provide strategic guidance to their respective organisations and monitor and review their own activities and the effectiveness of management.
The following information relates to HEAnet’s structure – for further information on EduCampus Services please visit https://www.educampus.ie
Directors are appointed for an initial term of four years, with the opportunity to be re-elected to serve for a further four-year term.
The published Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2019 and the Annual Report – Protected Disclosures 2019 are available here (as well as the Publications section of this website).
The Current Board Directors are listed below:
| Consortium of National & University Libraries | Ms Colette McKenna (UCC) |
| Dublin City University | Professor Noel O’Connor |
| Technological University Dublin | Professor Mike Murphy |
| Department of Business, Enterprise & Innovation | Board Chair: Professor Anne Scott (NUI Galway) |
| Higher Education Authority | Ms Sheena Duffy |
| Maynooth University | Ms Dearbhla O’Reilly |
| National University of Ireland Galway | Mr Sean O’Farrell |
| Technological Higher Education Association | Dr Orla Flynn (GMIT) |
| Technological Higher Education Association | Mr Billy Bennett (LYIT) |
| Trinity College Dublin | Mr Patrick Magee |
| University College Cork | Dr Gerard Culley |
| University College Dublin | Mr Phillip Fischer |
| University of Limerick | Ms Rosemary Fogarty |
| JISC | *Dr Paul Feldman |
*As per Constitution Section 42(c).
The current Ordinary Members of HEAnet are listed below:
| Dublin City University | Dr Declan Rafferty |
| TU Dublin | Ms Bridget Gleeson |
| Higher Education Authority | Dr Vivienne Patterson |
| Maynooth University | Dr Mike O’Malley |
| National University of Ireland Galway | Ms Sharon Bailey |
| Technological Higher Education Association | Vacant |
| Technological Higher Education Association | Mr Cormac O’Toole (IT Carlow) |
| Trinity College Dublin | Mr John Coman |
| University College Cork | Ms Nora Geary |
| University College Dublin | Mr David Kelly |
| University of Limerick | Professor Kerstin Mey |
Company Secretary: Ms Rhian Williams
Professor Anne Scott
Vice President for Equality and Diversity, NUI Galway, and Chairperson of HEAnet Group Board of Directors
Mr William Bennett
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Registrar, Letterkenny Institute of Technology
Professor Mike Murphy
Academic Registrar and Director, Academic Affairs, Digital & Learning Transformation, TU Dublin
Professor Noel O’Connor
Professor in the School of Electronic Engineering, Dublin City University
HEAnet Group Committees:
Four group committees report to the Board of HEAnet:
Group Audit Committee:
The Group Audit Committee’s primary function is to assist the Boards of HEAnet and EduCampus Services in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, including reviewing the financial information provided in the audited accounts; ensuring that adequate and effective systems of internal financial controls are in place, assessing the risk management function and overseeing the internal audit function.
HEAnet appoints an independent firm of auditors to conduct its internal audit function and the Audit Committee agrees an internal audit plan for a rolling three-year period. The auditors undertake an annual System of Internal Financial Control Audit, as well as other audits that focus on key business areas identified in the HEAnet and EduCampus Risk Registers.
The current Group Audit Committee members are:
| HEAnet Board | Ms Dearbhla O’Reilly (Chair) |
| Dr Mike O’Malley (HEAnet Ordinary Member) | |
| Dr Gerard Culley (HEAnet director) | |
| Mr Billy Bennett (HEAnet Director) | |
| EduCampus Services Board | Ms Mary Kerr (EduCampus Director) |
Group Finance Sub-Committee:
The main function of the Group Finance Sub-committee is to consider all financial matters relating to the group and to report its findings and recommendations to the respective Boards.
The current Finance Sub-Committee members are:
| HEAnet Board | Ms Rosemary Fogarty (HEAnet director) – Chair |
| Ms Colette McKenna (UCC) (HEAnet director) | |
| Professor Anne Scott (NUI Galway) (HEAnet director) | |
| Ms Sheena Duffy (HEAnet director) | |
| EduCampus Board | Professor Mike Murphy (EduCampus director) |
Group Remuneration Committee:
The Remuneration Committee meets annually to review and consider the performance and remuneration of the Group Chief Executives.
The current HEAnet Remuneration Committee members are:
| HEAnet Board of Directors | Professor Anne Scott (Chair) |
| Group Audit Committee | Ms Dearbhla O’Reilly |
| HEAnet Board of Director/Member of Group Finance Sub-Committee | Ms Sheena Duffy |
EduCampus Services: in respect of the EduCampus Chief Executive – the above members and the following members:
| Dr Joseph Ryan (Chair) | Chair, EduCampus Services Board of Directors |
| Ms Kerrie Power (CEO) | HEAnet CEO, EduCampus Services Director |
Board Nominations Sub-Committee:
The Nominations Sub-committee’s role is to:
- regularly review the structure, size and composition (including the skills, knowledge, experience and diversity) of the boards;
- consider succession planning for directors;
- keep up to date and fully informed about strategic issues and commercial changes affecting the company and the market in which it operates; and
- be responsible for identifying and nominating for the approval of the board, candidates to fill board vacancies when a representative body nominate more than one nominee for consideration as a director.
The current HEAnet Nominations Sub-committee members are:
| HEAnet Chief Executive | Ms Kerrie Power |
| Maynooth University | Ms Dearbhla O’Reilly |
| Department of Business, Enterprise & Innovation | Professor Anne Scott (HEAnet Chair) |
| University College Cork | Dr Gerard Culley |
Board and Sub-Committee attendance and expenses:
The directors do not receive remuneration for their services as per the company’s Constitution. However, travel costs and expenses incurred by directors in connection with the business of the company are reimbursed in accordance with the rates approved by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.