
Declan Fitzpatrick
Chief Executive
Declan Fitzpatrick was appointed Chief Executive for the Irish Aviation Authority in April, 2023. Declan has worked with the IAA aviation regulator since 2006, holding various management positions and regulatory roles. Declan has 30 year’s experience in the aviation industry with previous roles in airline, maintenance, continued airworthiness and design organisations. He has also served as an Commissioner on the Air Navigation Commission of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) based in their headquarters in Montreal, leading the development of the global standards and recommended practices for civil aviation.
Declan holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Dublin City University, a Master Science in Managing Risk and System Change from Trinity College Dublin and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Trinity College Dublin.

James Gavin
Director Operations

Josephine O'Reilly
Chief Financial Officer
Josephine O’Reilly is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in Ireland. She joined the Commission for Aviation Regulation as Financial Accountant in 2001 and has over 17 years of experience managing financial operations within State Bodies. She was appointed as Director of Finance of the IAA in 2021.

David Hodnett
Company Secretary

Dr. Adrian Corcoran
Director of Economic Regulation, Licensing and Consumer Affairs

Brian Higgins
Director of Human Resources, Facilities & Environment
Brian Higgins was appointed Director of Human Resources, Facilities & Environment for the Irish Aviation Authority on 1st May 2023 having held the position as Director of Corporate Services in the Commission for Aviation Regulation prior to its merger with the IAA.
He is responsible for the HR, Facilities & Environment Directorate.
Brian has 35 years’ experience across the public and private sector in both HR and Operational roles across health, manufacturing, finance, and the aviation sectors.
Brian is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development and holds a BA in Industrial Relations & Personnel Management from the NCI, and Diplomas in Organisational Behaviour from the IMI/UCC and Public Sector Corporate Governance from IPA.