Officers’ Declarations of Interest

Declarations of Interest

A conflict of interest happens when your personal, family, business, or property interests could influence your decisions at work — or even appear to.

Conflicts can take many forms. They might involve:

Direct financial gain, such as awarding a contract to yourself, a friend, or a relative.
Indirect gain, such as when your partner or family member works for the Council.
Situations where Council decisions affect a group or organisation you are part of.

All staff must avoid using their public role or Council resources for private matters or personal benefit. You have a duty to declare any private interests linked to your work and to resolve any conflicts in a way that protects the public interest.

Conflicts are most likely to arise in areas like recruitment, promotion, training, procurement, grant funding, planning, and staff appraisals. In these situations, all decisions must be made fairly and based on merit.

The Council keeps a Register of Interests to help identify actual or potential conflicts. Senior Officers and staff in higher-risk roles must complete a mandatory declaration of interest. Other staff who believe they have a conflict can complete a voluntary declaration.

For more detailed guidance, the Northern Ireland Audit Office provides a Good Practice Guide on Conflicts of Interest at www.niauditoffice.gov.uk

Senior Officers’ Declarations of Interest

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council follows the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) Model Publication Scheme. This commits the Council to openly share information with the public.

Under this scheme, the Council publishes details about Senior Officers who have made declarations of interest. This includes their names, departments, sections, and job titles.

Senior Officers include members of the Senior and Corporate Management Teams, such as the Chief Executive, Directors, and Assistant Directors. Information about the Chief Executive’s professional interests may also be shared, in line with UK GDPR rules.

The table below presents the Senior Officers as of 30 June 2025.

Name	Directorate/Department	Section	Job Title
Marie Ward	Chief Executive’s Department	Chief Executive’s Department	Chief Executive
Andrew Patterson	Active & Healthy Communities	Active & Healthy Communities	Director of Active & Healthy Communities
Josephine Kelly	Corporate Services	Corporate Services	Director of Corporate Services
Conor Mallon	Economy, Regeneration & Tourism	Economy, Regeneration & Tourism	Director of Economy, Regeneration & Tourism
Sinead Murphy	Sustainability & Environment	Sustainability & Environment	Director of Sustainability & Environment
Alison Robb	Active & Healthy Communities	Community Development	Assistant Director Community Development
Conor Haughey	Active & Healthy Communities	Healthy Living	Assistant Director Healthy Living
Caolain Boyd	Corporate Services	Capital & Procurement	Assistant Director Capital & Procurement
Veronica Keegan	Corporate Services	Digital & Communications	Assistant Director Digital & Communications
Gerard Byrne	Corporate Services	Finance & Performance	Assistant Director Finance & Performance
Carol McClean	Corporate Services	Legal and People	Assistant Director Legal and People
Amanda Smyth	Economy, Regeneration & Tourism	Enterprise, Growth & Tourism	Assistant Director Enterprise, Growth & Tourism
Jonathan McGilly	Economy, Regeneration & Tourism	Regeneration	Assistant Director Regeneration
Sinead Trainor	Sustainability & Environment	Environment	Assistant Director Environment
Conor Sage	Sustainability & Environment	Sustainability	Assistant Director Sustainability

*In relation to the Chief Executive the entry in relation to the professional element of the register is recorded as “n/a”.

For further details of the Council’s Publication Scheme please click here