Ossian Smyth is Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with special responsibility for Public Procurement and eGovernment; and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications with special responsibility for Communications and Circular Economy. He was appointed to these roles in July 2020.

He has been a TD for the Dún Laoghaire constituency since the 2020 general election.

Following the 2014 Irish local elections, Smyth was elected to Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council for the Dún Laoghaire local electoral area. He served as Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council from 2018 to 2019.

Smyth holds a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science from Trinity College Dublin.

Laura Burke is the Director General of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), appointed in 2011 and served as a Director within the EPA since 2004. Laura is the Chair of the European Environment Agency (EEA) Management Board. Prior to joining the EPA, she worked in the private sector. Laura is a graduate chemical engineer of University College Dublin (UCD), holds an MSc from Trinity College, Dublin, is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineers of Ireland and is a Chartered Director. In 2016 Laura was awarded the UCD Engineering Graduates Association (EGA) Distinguished Graduate Award.

David Flynn joined the EPA Board in October 2023 and is the Director of the Office of Environmental Sustainability. David has responsibility for the Circular Economy, Environmental Licensing and Carbon Emissions Trading. David has over twenty years of experience in environmental science and protection. He has held various roles, most recently as a Principal Adviser in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Previously, he worked as Licensing Programme Manager and as Enforcement Programme Manager with the EPA. David holds a Bachelor of Science in environmental science, Master of Science, and an MBA from UCD.

The HSE provides all of Ireland's public health services in hospitals and communities across the country and is the largest purchaser of goods and services in the State. In this capacity, John leads procurement with a firm focus to enable a better service, with improved outcomes for patients and service users in a challenging environment.

John has been instrumental in progressing the strategic procurement journey across the organisation. With a keen interest on driving transformation through collaboration and innovation, John has led on developing and improving the Procurement Sourcing Plan, Compliance Improvement, development and roll out of the National Logistics Service along with supporting the National Finance Reform and Stabilisation Programmes.

Louise Masterson is the Head of Procurement at An Post. Louise is a professionally qualified, highly motivated and enthusiastic Procurement leader who is responsible for setting a transformative procurement strategy and leading a core team across a wide spectrum of categories.

Dara O'Sullivan is a Senior Procurement Specialist and Sustainability Champion at An Post. Dara is responsible for driving positive change in, and maintaining a focus on, Green Public Procurement (GPP) within the team and also has an extensive Supply Chain and Logistics background.

Jane Kenneally BSc. MSc. Has been newly appointed as the EPA’s Sustainability Officer. She has worked with the EPA for eighteen years in the areas of resource use, hazardous waste, GPP and producer responsibility compliance. She currently works in the Facilities team on large scale projects to reduce energy and carbon resulting from EPA activities and coordinates the EPA’s Green Team.

Joseph Cummins is a Principal Officer in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and leads on implementation of the Climate Action Plan as it relates to industry and commercial buildings. Joseph represents the Department on a number of cross-Government initiatives on climate and energy policy, and chairs the ‘Cement and Construction Sector Decarbonisation Working Group’. Joseph has previously worked in roles in IDA Ireland, the Department of Finance, and an Irish engineering business; he is a graduate of TCD.

Fiona McCoole is a Senior Manager in the EPA’s Circular Economy Programme with responsibility for leading the implementation team. The implementation team’s activities include supporting GPP implementation, delivering through partnerships, funding innovation and demonstration activities, delivering the national food waste prevention programme and advocating for circular economy through delivery of behavioural and policy insights. She has over 25 years of experience in environmental protection roles. Fiona holds a BSc and MSc from Trinity College Dublin and a MA in Public Management from the National University of Ireland.

Paul Biesty is a Chief Technical Officer with the Furniture Division, Office of Public Works since 2004.

The role includes the establishment of framework contracts for the procurement of furniture for Government Departments and Agencies, implementing and managing office furniture fit outs, storing & maintaining the States collection of period furniture and management of redundant furniture from Government buildings.

Ceara is responsible for oversight of the Procurement, Strategic Sourcing, Entire Supply Chain and Materials Management in Bus Éireann.

Bus Éireann has a Central Procurement & Materials Department that manages the purchasing of Supply, Service and Works Contracts throughout the organisation and across multiple locations. Bus Éireann operate the largest school transport scheme in Europe on behalf of the Department of Education and Ceara is responsible for procuring these services.

Ceara has worked in Bus Eireann since 1998 in various roles, and has a qualification in Purchasing and Supply Chain and Advanced Diploma in Public Procurement Law and recently completing a certificate in Sustainable Reporting in the Charted Accountants Ireland.

A public procurement practitioner in higher education for over 16 years, Fiona Thomson B.A. is a recognised leader on green public procurement in the university sector. Fiona graduated with a degree in hotel management and worked initially in the hospitality sector before joining UCC in 2007. She furthered her career in Public Procurement with an advanced diploma in Procurement Law from the Kings Inn. As University College Cork’s Procurement Officer, Fiona is responsible for the procurement associated with an annual non-pay budget of over €100 million. Fiona has attained substantial expertise across all categories of spend in goods and services to support the educational and sustainable ambitions of the University. In more recent years, Fiona has been recognised nationally and internationally for her leadership in GPP and has been invited to share her experiences with other practitioners by agencies such as the OGP, SEAI and has also presented European Universities Association.

Aoife Sugrue is an Acting Senior Executive Engineer with the Regional & Local Roads Design Office of Cork County Council. Since joining the public sector in 2001, she has worked in various roles within the Planning, Environment, Water Services and Climate Action areas of the local authority. Having spent the previous 3 years with the Climate Action Regional Office, Aoife has recently joined the Roads Directorate in Cork County Council to undertake a pilot project on Green Public Procurement in Road Maintenance.

Hilary Molloy is the Procurement Manager for Galway and Roscommon Education Training Board (GRETB) and is passionate about promoting effective procurement in a highly complex organisation. Hilary has 20+ years’ experience in the education sector with 18 years in Atlantic Technological University (ATU) and 3 years heading up procurement in GRETB. Hilary has a first-class honours Diploma and Certificate in Public Procurement, is a graduate of AIT and UL. Hilary along with Clarin College, Athenry have recently received the inaugural prestigious National ETB Excellence Award for Organisation, Support and Development – GREEN INNOVATION.

Rhoda brings a wealth of experience of working in the charity sector in Scotland. Previously CEO of a growing charity, Rhoda now coordinates the Reuse Consortium with Circular Communities Scotland. She has first-hand knowledge of the practicalities of green procurement in Scotland with the Reuse Consortium supplying to seven Scottish Local Authorities. Rhoda is passionate about reuse and the opportunities for Social Enterprises to partner with the public sector to have a positive impact on our communities and the environment. Also interested in helping organisations and people be the best they can be, Rhoda volunteers as a mentor and works with organisations in their development. Any spare time is spent walking, reading and catching up with friends and family.

Warren is a Chartered Civil Engineer and Chartered Waste Manager and spent over 20 years working in the waste and resources industry before joining the EPA in 2022. The Agency’s Circular Economy programme covers a wide range of activities under pillars of advocacy and evidence, innovation and demonstration, regulation and partnerships. Programme activities include waste data, characterisation, green public procurement, circular economy partnerships, food waste prevention, circular construction, national hazardous waste management plan, end of waste and by-product decision making. Warren chairs the National Data Network Group and the National Hazardous Waste Plan Working Group and is an EPA representative on the Cement & Construction Sector Decarbonisation Working Group.

Francesca has a legal background and experience in EU-regulated public procurement and related sustainability policies. Before joining Greenville, she worked at ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability. Before then, she also conducted a traineeship on procurement at the European Investment Bank within the Projects Directorate. She holds a master’s degree in law, which she obtained at the University of Trento (Italy) in 2017. Since September 2021, she has been an LLM candidate in Public Procurement Law and Policy at the University of Nottingham (UK).

Olga Grant is the Technical Advisor in green and sustainable public procurement. Green and sustainable public procurement can help Ireland move towards a more circular economy, and form part of the public sector leading by example on climate action. Olga works closely with a number of government departments, including DECC, and agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency. Olga has experience in communicating to diverse audiences and responding to changing international, European Union, and national environmental and climate policy.

Brian Quirke joined the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications in November 2020 and is an Assistant Principal Officer in the Department’s Circular Economy Strategic Policy Division. Brian has over 20 years’ experience in the environmental field and has worked in various roles during this time. Brian holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science, a Masters in Spatial Planning and a Post Graduate Diploma in Physical Planning.

Abby Semple, LL.B., Ph.D. has over 16 years of experience in advising public bodies on strategic and legal aspects of procurement. Her main focus is on the environmental and social impact of public contracts and how these can be meaningfully addressed through the contracting process. Abby has managed complex tenders on behalf of public sector clients in Ireland and the UK, and developed policy and guidance at the EU level and in Germany, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Poland, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United States. Recent projects include the development and updating of Ireland’s GPP guidance and criteria as well as delivery of training to over 150 public sector bodies in Ireland (2020-2023). Abby has also delivered procurement training to the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, Informatics Directorate and other EU agencies.

Helen Bruen is a Programme Officer in the Environmental Protection Agency and works in Circular Economy Programme’s Implementation team.

Helen’s responsibilities include supporting the implementation of Green Public Procurement, for example the delivery of the EPA’s Green Public Procurement: Guidance for the Public Sector and national criteria sets and annual reporting and monitoring of Green Public Procurement in Government Departments.

Helen holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Galway and a Masters in Business from TCD.