Press release

Secretary of State extends appointment of members of the Equality Commission for NI

Extension to appointments of the Equality Commission

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Karen Bradley MP has extended the appointments of eleven members of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.

Joseph McVey, William Gamble, Reverend Lesley Carroll, William McKee, David Rose, Tom Hartley, Hazel Francey and Judith Gillespie have been extended until 31 May 2019 and Geraldine McGahey, Deborah Donnelly and Robin Mullan have been extended until 28 February 2020.

Notes to Editors:

The extensions will allow the introduction of a more staggered approach to future appointments and improve business continuity.

Biographies of Appointees

Biographies can be found here

Terms of Appointment

The positions are part-time.

The position of Commissioner attracts an annual remuneration of £5,000 and the Deputy Chief Commissioner receives an annual remuneration of £10,000.

These positions are non-pensionable.

Political Activity

All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity in defined categories within the last five years to be made public.

Lesley Carroll declared that she stood for election as an Ulster Unionist candidate at the 2016 Assembly elections. Tom Hartley has undertaken activities on behalf of Sinn Fein, including representing the party on the Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition.

Published 21 June 2018