Governance of State Bodies

State Bodies Code of Practice. Directors' roles and responsibilities. Board oversight. Culture.

This workshop is designed specifically for: 

• The boards of Public Sector Bodies/Commercial and Semi State organisations/State Agencies
• Member of a State Board or soon to be joining a State Board
• Board members of State Bodies
• Members of the Senior Leadership Team within State Bodies
• Those charged with overseeing the governance of State Bodies

Book your place on this workshop designed for directors. This workshop will critically explore the relationship between the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies (the Code) and the responsibilities of Directors and Senior Management within these Bodies.

The workshop will cover the following:

• Unique characteristics of State Bodies and the implications for corporate governance
• Role and responsibilities of the Board
• Role and responsibilities of the Board Chair
• Role of management versus role of the Board
• Operation of Board Committees
• Core tenets of best practice State Body governance and their application in practice
• Relations with the Oireachtas, Minister and parent department
• Setting the board up for success

On completion of this workshop, participants will be able to: 

• Critically reflect on the unique governance framework within which State Bodies and their Boards operate and the challenges therein for Board and Senior Management role execution;
• Explore and apply the core tenets of best practice corporate governance as reflected in the Code through a broad stakeholder lens;
• Promote corporate governance themes and best practice within a State Body as a Board member, member of the senior leadership team or as a stakeholder within the governance framework;
• Evaluate the efficacy of the corporate governance framework and/or processes within a State Body;
• Apply professional knowledge and skills to the resolution of practical corporate governance issues and problems.

Introducing Dr Margaret Cullen

Dr Margaret Cullen holds a PhD in governance from University College Dublin (UCD). She is a specialist in the areas of corporate, bank and investment fund governance. Margaret is a governance adviser to the Institute of Directors (IoD) in Ireland, an experienced Board Assessor with IoD’s Board Evaluation Service and and member of IoD’s faculty for the delivery of customized governance education and workshops.

Margaret is Programme Director of UCD Smurfit Executive Education’s Diploma in Corporate Governance. She lectures on the programme in the areas of governance paradigms and practice, role and responsibilities of the board, sustainability and stakeholder management, investor stewardship, behavioural aspects of boards and executive remuneration and incentives. Margaret is Academic Director for the Institute of Banking’s (IoB’s) Certified Bank Director Programme on an associate basis and lectures bank governance on the programme. She is a fellow of the IoB.

Margaret serves as a non-executive director on the boards of several organisations and has extensive board and board committee experience. She is also a member of the Company Law Review Group.

Is this eligible for CPD?

Dimension covered: Governance Framework

Eligible hours: 6 hours of Chartered Director CPD

This session may be eligible for other professional body CPD.Check with your relevant professional body.

Workshop participants will receive a Certificate of Attendance on completion of the session.

To fully embrace participants’ experience and to encourage the sharing of this experience and knowledge by and with other participants, Dr Margaret Cullen will lead dynamic, interactive sessions, drawing on her own and participants’ experiences. She will integrate practical examples into the workshop and support participants in identifying key take-aways / action points.

What is the cost?

IoD members - €465

Non-members - €540

Cancellation and refund policy

Places are confirmed upon full payment. Cancellations with a full refund are accepted in writing to cpd@iodireland.ie until Friday, 31st October 2025.  After this date, no refunds are possible, and all fees are forfeited for cancellations or non-attendance. Recordings will not be available as part of post-session materials.

Group bookings

Contact the IoD Ireland Learning and Education team on cpd@iodireland.ie or phone +353 1 411 0010.

Want to connect with fellow workshop participants?

All workshop attendees will receive a list of all other workshop participants in advance of the session. This will include name, job title and organisation. If you have any queries around this  please contact the Learning and Education Team.

For GDPR reasons, we cannot provide contact details on the attendee list. 

Questions?

For any IoD Ireland Learning and Education Programme queries, email cpd@iodireland.ie or call +3531 411 0010.

Workshop material is prepared by IoD trainers and produced by the IoD wholly and exclusively for use by workshop participants. Workshop materials may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without permission in writing from IoD Ireland.