Minister appoints Interim Chairman to Board of NI Water

06 August 2010 12:47

Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy today announced the appointment of Padraic White as interim Chair of the Board of NI Water (NIW).

The appointment will be for an initial period of up to nine months, until a permanent appointment process is conducted and while all future long-term governance arrangements of water and sewerage services are re-examined.

Padraic White will join the four recently appointed interim non-executive directors, Peter Bunting, Lawson McDonald, Máirtín Ó Muilleoir and Kevin Steele, as well as Don Price, who remains on the Board.

The Minister said: “I welcome the appointment of Padraic White who will bring his wealth of skills and experience to bear in providing a steadying influence on the Board of NIW following what has been a difficult time for the organisation.”

Padraic White is a former managing director of the Industrial Development Authority of Ireland. Since then he has chaired the boards of a wide range of private, public and community bodies. In addition he is currently chairperson of community regeneration projects in both Belfast and Dublin. He was the first chairman of the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) [2002- 2007], an agency responsible for developing Light Rail and Metro transport. It introduced Ireland’s first light rail system (LUAS) in Dublin which has proved a big success both with passengers and commercially.

A successful author on Irish economic development, he has advised governments throughout the world on the promotion of foreign direct investment. His wife, Senator Mary White, Fianna Fail, was elected to the Senate in the Irish Parliament in July 2002 and re-elected in July 2007.