Council official to leave for new post

Council official to leave for new post

23 March 2022

ONE of Newry, Mourne and Down Council’s most senior officials is to leave the organisation.

Ms Dorinnia Carville — the local authority’s current deputy chief executive — has been nominated as the new Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland.

Her appointment has been confirmed by Assembly speaker Alex Maskey who is also chairman of the Assembly Commission.

He confirmed that following the conclusion of the recruitment process, the Assembly Commission identified Ms Carville for nomination to the important role, which is instrumental in ensuring that public funds are spent wisely.

“It is vital that all public bodies are held to the highest standards,” said Mr Maskey.

“Where public bodies, including Northern Ireland Departments, have not adhered to best practice, it is the function of the Comptroller and Auditor General to make recommendations so that best practice is followed and lessons are learnt.”

Mr Maskey said Ms Carville brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role of Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland, with a career that is rich in public sector audit experience.

He added: “I have no doubt that Ms Carville will serve the public sector professionally and diligently.”

The Assembly Commission tabled a motion for debate at a sitting yesterday when MLAs were given the opportunity to agree Ms Carville’s formal nomination.  

Ms Carville graduated from Belfast’s Queen’s University with a degree in Law, with Politics. 

She is a chartered accountant who trained and worked in leading private sector accountancy firms in London and Belfast, before moving into public sector audit, joining the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) and gaining experience auditing a wide range of public bodies in Northern Ireland.

Over the course of 11 years, Ms Carville held a number of positions in the NIAO including financial audit director and director of corporate services. 

In this position, she was the technical director providing technical audit advice to the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Local Government Auditor and represented the NIAO on the Public Audit Forum with colleagues from the audit offices in England, Wales and Scotland.

Following the review of public administration, Ms Carville moved into local government as Director of Corporate Services at Newry Mourne and Down Council in 2016. 

She is the local authority’s senior financial officer and is also responsible for a wide range of corporate services including audit, human resources, legal and compliance, communications and marketing and capital projects. 

She is responsible for the organisation’s Audit and Strategy, Policy and Resources committees. Since February, she has been acting chief executive, deputising for Mrs Marie Ward.

Ms Carville also holds a number of voluntary roles in the public sector as well as the voluntary and community sector, including as a Board Trustee for Belfast and Lisburn Women’s Aid.