Mr Justice Daniel O'Keeffe, Chairperson

Daniel O’Keeffe, a retired High Court Judge, was appointed Chairperson of the Standards in Public Office Commission on 11 February 2014.

He was called to the Bar in 1964 having graduated from University College Dublin and the Kings Inns. He practiced at the Bar until his appointment to the High Court in 2008. He was appointed a Senior Counsel in 1985. He previously qualified as a Charted Accountant.

Mr Justice O'Keeffe was Chairman of the Public Service Benchmarking Body for its second report, which was made to the Minister for Finance in 2007, and was Chairman of the Irish Takeover Panel from 1997 to 2008.

Seamus McCarthy, Comptroller and Auditor General

Seamus McCarthy was appointed as Comptroller and Auditor General on 28 May 2012. He previously served as Director of Audit in the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General from 2008, with overall responsibility for the Office’s reporting programme and for Revenue, Social Protection and third level education audits. Between 1994 and 2008, he served as Deputy Director of Audit in the Reporting Directorate. He joined the Office from the Department of Finance where he worked from 1981 to 1994 carrying out economic and demographic analysis and policy and programme evaluation work.

Mr McCarthy holds a Master in Science (Public Sector Analysis) degree awarded by Trinity College, Dublin, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in economics and political science from the National University of Ireland, Galway.

Peter Tyndall, Ombudsman

Peter Tyndall was appointed as Ombudsman on 2nd December 2013. Prior to becoming Ombudsman, Peter was the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales for five years from 2008 to 2013. He was previously Chief Executive of the Arts Council of Wales, Head of Education and Culture for the Welsh Local Government Association and has also worked in a variety of senior positions in housing and social care, most notably in developing housing and support services for people with learning disabilities.

Mr Tyndall is currently President of the International Ombudsman Institute, and has spoken and published extensively on Ombudsman issues. He has an MSc in Strategic Management from Cardiff University.

Peter Finnegan, Clerk of Dáil Éireann

Peter Finnegan joined the Houses of the Oireachtas Service in January 1997 and was appointed Clerk of the Dáil on 13 January 2016.

Mr Finnegan previously served in the Department of the Taoiseach, Department of Education and Skills, Department of Finance, Department of Social Protection, and Office of Public Works. He is from Dublin and holds a B.Sc. (Computer Science) from Trinity College Dublin; Certified Diploma in Accounting and Finance from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants; and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, UCD.

Martin Groves, Clerk of Seanad Éireann

Martin Groves was appointed Clerk of the Seanad in January 2017, having served as Clerk Assistant since June 2014. He joined the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas Service in 1992 where he served in a range of roles including Finance Officer, clerk to several Oireachtas committees and the parliamentary procedural offices. Prior to 1992, he served in the Department of Defence, Telecom Éireann and the Department of Posts and Telegraphs.

Mr Groves' responsibilities include administration of the work of Seanad Éireann and provision of procedural advice to the Cathaoirleach and Senators. He is also the Returning Officer for Seanad elections. He is a native of Dublin.

Jim O'Keeffe, Ordinary Member

Jim O’ Keeffe practised as a solicitor in West Cork and served as a member of Dáil Éireann for 34 years up to his retirement in 2011.

During his political career, he held office as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Minister of State for Finance and the Public Service. He also held Front Bench responsibility in opposition for a range of portfolios and served on many Oireachtas committees as well as being a member of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Mr O'Keeffe is currently a non-executive director of a number of companies and was appointed to the Standards in Public Office Commission in February 2014.