Sam Blanckensee, Professor Cathryn Costello, Adam Harris, Rosaleen McDonagh, Patricia Munatsi-Mangwiza and Rose Wall have been nominated by government ministers and will be appointed following approval from the Oireachtas.

Blanckensee is the current equality officer at Maynooth University and previously worked with the Irish Traveller Movement and Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI).

Professor Costello is professor of global refugee and migration law at University College Dublin, where she is also the director of the PhD programme. She has also held chairs at the Hertie School and the University of Oxford and remains a Visiting Professor at both institutions.

She has previous board member experience, including as a member of the board of the Irish Refugee Council and two Oxford Colleges.

Mr Harris is being reappointed, having been a member of the Commission since 2020. He is a disability advocate who has acted as vice-chairperson of the Commission’s disability advisory committee and served on the audit and risk committee.

He is also a founder and the current CEO of AsIAm, Ireland’s autism charity. He has extensive experience as a non-executive director of various charities and NGOs including Rethink Ireland.

Ms McDonagh is also being reappointed. She is a member of the Travelling community with prior board experience with Pavee Point and Women’s Aid and is currently on the board of the Arts Council.

In her role as commissioner, she has led engagement on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) as chair of the Commission’s disability advisory committee. She has previous experience as an adjunct lecturer at Trinity College Dublin and is a member of Aosdána.

Ms Munatsi-Mangwiza is a human rights lawyer with experience in policy development, public affairs and strategic advocacy. She is a member of the government’s expert advisory committee on racial equality and racism, inputting into the National Action Plan against Racism (NAPAR) and advising the special rapporteur.

She is also currently serving as a board member with Uplift – People Powered Change and a member of Lawyers Against Racism Ireland. She has previously led Volunteer Ireland’s public affairs strategy, coordinated the Coalition for the Implementation of NAPAR and contributed to multiple Oireachtas and UN submissions.

Ms Wall is a solicitor and consultant specialising in environmental justice, with a legal career focused on the advancement of human rights and equality. She brings extensive senior leadership experience from across the NGO sector.

She founded Ireland’s Centre for Environmental Justice and is a current member of the board of Community Foundation Ireland.