Members of the Authority

Patricia Byron

Chair

Patricia Byron has worked as a senior executive in the Insurance and related financial services sector over many years. She was the first CEO of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB), an independent State body, established to reform a costly personal injury claims environment. Patricia was appointed as Chairperson of the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland where she led a reform programme, focusing on business transformation and effectiveness. When appointed as Chairperson of the Association of Chief Executives of State Bodies, she became actively involved in a number of public sector reform initiatives.

Patricia now sits on the Board of the Central Bank of Ireland Commission and the National Treatment Purchase Fund and chairs a number of public sector Audit committees, including the Department of Finance.

Patricia is a graduate of UCD, a Chartered Insurer and a Past President of the Insurance Institute.

John Evans

Dr John Evans

Dr. John Evans has over 20 years’ experience in the area of competition and regulation. He is currently the Director of Strategy and Economics at ComReg, the Irish communications regulator, which he joined in 2015. John’s responsibilities include strategic planning, research & economics, and international activities relating to the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications, in which he has served as an alternate member of the Board since 2018.

Prior to joining ComReg, John worked in various roles at the Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (and previously the Irish Competition Authority), latterly as the Director of Civil Competition Law Enforcement.

John holds a PhD in Economics from UCD, Ireland.

Caroline Barlow

Caroline Barlow

Caroline is a highly accomplished senior actuary with over 34 years’ experience in a wide variety of general insurance roles at both UK and European level, serving as the Head of Actuarial Function for a major International Insurance Company. Caroline’s professional career has given her a deep understanding of the insurance business and the associated risks.

Damien McShane

Damien McShane

Damien is a lawyer admitted to the bar in both Ireland and New York. He is a seasoned legal advisor and corporate executive with significant senior level experience across the financial sector and health insurance sector. He holds degrees from the Queen’s University of Belfast, National University of Ireland, University of Dublin (Trinity College), King’s Inns and University of Oxford. 

John Armstrong

John Armstrong

John is a senior actuary and health economist. He completed his undergraduate studies in Trinity College Dublin and his postgraduate studies in Georgetown University, Washington DC. He has extensively researched on many health insurance reform topics and has active research and teaching links with both the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and the Institute of Public Administration in Dublin.

He has over 25 years experience working in the health insurance industry. Furthermore, he has advised over 20 countries on health financing reform topics in many diverse parts of the world, including the reform of their health insurance sector.

Michael A. O’Sullivan

Michael A. O’Sullivan

Michael is a Civil Engineer, Chartered Management Accountant and holds an MBA from UCC. He has significant board experience in diverse roles including finance, business planning, regulatory affairs and healthcare.

Michael Harnett

Michael Harnett

Michael is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. He has over 20 years of commercial experience and holds an MBA from UCD Smurfit Business School. He has worked with a number of large regulated companies in Ireland and internationally to ensure they meet all legislative and licensing obligations. In his current role as Finance Director, he is responsible for a wide number of commercial issues for group companies on the island of Ireland operating as part of a publicly quoted international group and for ensuring that effective corporate governance practices are followed.