The chairman of the Prison Authority interim board is Kerry-based businessman Mr Brian McCarthy. He is chairman and majority shareholder of FEXCO, the Foreign Exchange Company of Ireland, founded in 1981 and based in Killorglin, with branches worldwide.
Ms Mairead Ahern was a solicitor and lecturer in law in the RTC Dundalk before becoming county registrar for Louth. She is a member of the expert group reviewing the Probation and Welfare Service.
Dr Patricia Casey is professor of psychiatry in UCD, consultant psychiatrist at the Mater Hospital, Dublin and an elected member of the Irish Medical Council. Her most recent book, Psychiatry and the Law, was published this year.
Ms Anne Counihan, a qualified solicitor, is a director of the National Treasury Management Agency, where she is responsible for legal and corporate affairs.
Mr Tom Hoare was nominated by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. He is deputy general secretary of the Prison Officers' Association. Mr Jerry Kiersey is chief executive of the Institute of Freight Forwarders of Ireland and president of Ballyfermot Chamber of Commerce.
Mr Eamon Leahy is a senior counsel. Mr Frank McCarthy joined the prison service in 1965 and has been governor of Cork Prison since 1993.
Mr Michael Mellett, an ex-officio member, is assistant secretary, prisons division, in the Department of Justice. Ms Kathleen O'Neill is a community worker and former member of the board of the Combat Poverty Agency.
Mr Michael Whelan is human resources manager in Guinness, at St James's Gate Brewery. He holds an M.Sc in organisation behaviour from TCD and is a member of the Institute of Personnel and Development.