Patrick McGovern, Independent procurement consultant

Patrick McGovern is a procurement consultant and former Partner at Arthur Cox, where he specialised in Procurement Law projects for many years. He has written extensively on procurement and is a co-author of a book on this topic to be published in late 2017. He is a First-Class Honours graduate in Law from Trinity College Dublin.

Declan McCormack, Programme Manager, Office of Government Procurement

Declan has responsibility at Principal level for the Office of Government Procurement’s eInvoicing programme. Prior to his appointment he held the position of Head of IT with one of Ireland’s leading e-Procurement services providers and has over 20 years’ experience in technology development, delivery and management within the telecoms, financial and IT sectors and was actively involved in the development and implementation of PEPPOL infrastructure. As a member of National Standards Authority (NSAI) he has served on the European Standardisation Organisation eProcurement committee (CEN/TC 434) that was charged with drafting the eInvoicing Standard as per the requirements of the European eInvoicing Directive (2014/55/EU).

Aaron Boyle – Partner, Arthur Cox

Aaron’s practice is focused on the areas of infrastructure, procurement, PPP and project finance. Aaron heads the Procurement and Transport Groups in Arthur Cox.  He has been centrally involved in key infrastructure projects in Ireland for a number of years particularly in the areas of health, education, transport and energy.  Aaron has extensive commercial experience advising on a range of contracts and sectors including PPP, concession, managed service, framework, logistics and ICT. As part of Aaron’s procurement practice, he advises on the defence to procurement challenges and also promotes the rights of bidders.  Aaron has been involved in the majority of the procurement challenges brought in Ireland over recent years.

Margaret Hearty, Director of Programmes and Business Services, InterTrade Ireland

Margaret Hearty is Director of Programmes & Business Services at InterTradeIreland. InterTradeIreland is the all island Trade & Business Development Body tasked by both Governments to boost cross border economic co-operation. Margaret is responsible for leading the development and delivery of InterTradeIreland’s suite of TRADE and INNOVATION programmes.

Pauric Marray, Partner, Quigg Golden

Pauric has over 10 years’ experience advising on construction claims and disputes involving mediation, conciliation, adjudication and arbitration. Pauric also regularly provides advice in relation to procurement issues. He has developed a particular specialism in supporting suppliers through tendering processes. He is an Associate Director at Quigg Golden. A qualified trainer, Pauric has worked extensively in the design and implementation of training programmes for both public and private organisations on a range of legal issues affecting the construction industry.

Pearse Ryan, Partner, Arthur Cox, Dublin

Pearse specialises in the areas of information technology (including IT disputes), sourcing, outsourcing, cyber-security, computer security/fraud, e-commerce and intellectual property (with an emphasis on IT related matters). Pearse works mainly in the technology and life science sectors, specialising in sourcing, outsourcing and project work. Pearse acts for mainly customers in the public sector and for both customers and suppliers in the private sector. Much of Pearse’s practice is in the area of structuring procurements and projects, including re-structuring, as well as dealing with legal and contractual matters. The scope of work extends from project initiation through procurement and contract negotiation, to project implementation and contract management/dispute resolution services.

Thomas Griffin, CEng. Head of Local Government Operational Procurement Centre, Kerry County Council

Tom Griffin, CEng, is a Senior Engineer at Kerry County Council, and is currently Head of the Local Government Operational Procurement Centre (LGOPC). In this role, he manages, develops and promotes the Minor Building & Civil Engineering Works and Plant Hire categories on behalf of the public sector. He also oversees and manages the establishment of central procurement mechanisms that comply with regulations, legislation, directives and guidelines governing public procurement. Tom attained a BE in Civil Engineering from UCD in 1986. Upon completion of his education, he held multiple positions in housing inspection and engineering in the United States. From 2002, when he returned to Ireland, he held several public sector roles.

Patrick Kenny, Competition and Consumer Protection Commission

Patrick Kenny is a Member of the CCPC. As well as collegiate decision making with other Commissioners on all aspects of the organisation, he currently oversees the Criminal Enforcement and Legal Services Divisions, as well as Regulation. He was first appointed as a Member of the Irish Competition Authority in January 2012 as Director of the Cartels Division. He is an economist. He took up his present responsibilities on 31 October 2014 upon the amalgamation of the Authority with the National Consumer Agency. Patrick previously worked at different times for the Commission for Communications Regulation, the European Commission, Arthur Andersen and the Competition Authority.