Solicitor Madeleine Delaney has been appointed as chief executive of the Charities Regulator.

The appointment, which was made by the regulator’s board after a public recruitment process, was approved yesterday (7 August) by Joe O’Brien, the minister responsible for charities.

Delaney has been interim chief executive since April 2024, and was previously head of legal affairs and regulation with the Charities Regulator.

Before joining the watchdog in 2021, she was head of legal at the Office of the Ombudsman, and previously deputy head of compliance with the Pensions Authority.

Dialogue

Gerry Kearney (chair of the Charities Regulator) said: “This is an important time for the Charities Regulator, as we mark almost a decade since establishment and prepare a strategic plan for the coming period.

“A critical challenge will be deepening our dialogue and relationships across the charity sector. As CEO Madeleine will be pivotal to achieving the organisation’s goals and further strengthening the sector, which contributes so significantly to our society,“ he stated.

Delaney said that she was looking forward to building on the regulator’s work to increase public trust and confidence in the charities sector through effective and proportionate regulation.

She succeeds Helen Martin, who stepped down earlier this year when her term of office finished.