The Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland advises Ofcom about the interests and opinions, in relation to communications matters, of people living in Northern Ireland.
The Committee usually meets five times a year. The Committee’s minutes are provided to the Ofcom Board.
The remit of the Advisory Committee is to:
- seek to identify issues affecting the communications and postal sectors in Northern Ireland, both collectively as a Committee and individually for Members, with particular reference to the sectors where they have particular knowledge or expertise
- to provide advice to Ofcom about general and specific issues concerning the communications and postal sectors arising within Northern Ireland
- to provide advice and comment as required on matters brought to the Committee by Ofcom
- to offer comment as appropriate on consultations undertaken by Ofcom
- where requested by the Content Board, to provide specific advice to that Board on matters relating to television, radio and other content on services regulated by Ofcom
- when so requested by the Ofcom Board, to provide advice to the Communications Consumer Panel on matters affecting consumers in Northern Ireland in the communications sector.
13 March 2025
12 June 2025
2 October 2025
4 December 2025
Minutes of the 97th meeting of the Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland held on 2nd October 2025 (PDF File, 157 KB)
Published 6 January 2026
Minutes of the 96th meeting of the Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland held on 12th June 2025 (PDF File, 174 KB)
Published 23 October 2025
Minutes of the 95th meeting of the Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland held on 13th March 2025 (PDF File, 159 KB)
Published 23 October 2025
Minutes of the 94th meeting of the Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland held on 5th December 2024 (PDF File, 216 KB)
Published 23 October 2025
Minutes of the 93rd meeting of the Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland held on 10th October 2024 (PDF File, 176 KB)
Published 13 February 2025
Minutes of the 92nd meeting of the Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland held on 20th June 2024 (PDF File, 197 KB)
Published 13 February 2025
Minutes of the 91st meeting of the Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland held on 7th March 2024 (PDF File, 156 KB)
Published 13 February 2025
Minutes of the 90th meeting of the Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland held on 5th December 2023 (PDF File, 208.9 KB)
Published 18 May 2024
Minutes of the 89th meeting of the Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland, held on 10th October 2023 (PDF File, 161.5 KB)
Published 1 March 2024
Minutes of the 88th meeting of the Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland, held on 20 June 2023 (PDF File, 175.7 KB)
Published 1 December 2023
Minutes of the 87th meeting of the Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland, held on the 7 March 2023 (PDF File, 171.4 KB)
Published 29 September 2023
Minutes of the 86th meeting of the Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland, held on 6 December 2022 (PDF File, 183.2 KB)
Published 29 September 2023
Minutes of the 85th meeting of the Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland, held on 22nd September 2022 (PDF File, 202.1 KB)
Published 17 January 2023
Minutes of the 84th meeting of the Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland, held on 21 June 2022 (PDF File, 150.5 KB)
Published 21 October 2022
Minutes of the 83rd meeting of the Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland, held on 1 March 2022 (PDF File, 148.4 KB)
Published 21 October 2022
Minutes of the 82nd meeting of the Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland, held on 7 December 2021 (PDF File, 167.1 KB)
Published 21 October 2022
Minutes of the 81st meeting of the Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland, held on 9 September 2021 (PDF File, 163.2 KB)
Published 21 October 2022
Minutes of the 80th meeting of the Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland, held on 8 June 2021 (PDF File, 163.2 KB)
Published 21 October 2022
Minutes of the 79th meeting of the Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland, held on 23 February 2021 (PDF File, 155.9 KB)
Published 21 October 2022
Minutes of the 78th meeting of the Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland, held on 25 November 2020 (PDF File, 156.3 KB)
Published 21 October 2022
Minutes of the 77th meeting of the Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland, held on 9 September 2020 (PDF File, 173.8 KB)
Published 21 October 2022
It is our policy to keep board and committee minutes on our site for two years only. Older minutes can be accessed via the National Archives.
Professor Colm Murphy (Chair)
Professor Colm Murphy is a multi-award winning journalist and academic leader. As a director of the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ)(2014-2024), he drove its strategic transformation into a world-leading multimedia industry accrediting body with a turnover of of £6m. He also helped drive the development of the UK’s Journalism Diversity Fund and the and UK’s £8m Community News Project, which diversified entry into UK journalism. He holds a PhD in strategic policymaking for digital media growth, an MA in interactive media and a degree in finance.
He was made a UK National Teaching Fellow, one of the highest accolades in UK university teaching, for his contribution to the development of journalism education internationally. He is also a Principal Fellow of the UK’s Higher Education Academy. He led a £3.6m EU project on the strategic development of the media sector and his work on journalism safety has been used globally. As Subject Leader in Media at Ulster University he teaches media law, regulation, investigative journalism and digital media strategy.
He was young journalist of the year and he worked for The Sunday Times for 25 years and was business editor of The Sunday Tribune and made investigative documentaries for RTE.
Colm joined the Committee on 1 March 2023. He was appointed Chair on 10 March 2025 and his term runs until 09 March 2028.
Maeve Connolly
Maeve Connolly has been a journalist in Northern Ireland for 25 years. An audience development and engagement consultant, her work focuses on trust, next generation audiences and marginalised communities. She is also co-director of the community interest company Raised Voices which empowers those who are under-represented, or misrepresented, in traditional media to tell their own stories and offers bespoke communications solutions for the arts, community and voluntary sectors.
Maeve is the former head of audience strategy and growth at the Irish News where she was instrumental in guiding the legacy news organisation through its digital transformation during a lengthy career with the company. She holds a Masters degree in Journalism Innovation and Leadership from the University of Lancashire and is an industry adviser for the National Council for the Training of Journalists.
Maeve joined the Committee on 1 March 2026. Her appointment runs until 28 February 2029.
Michael Wilson
Michael Wilson has more than 30 years’ experience as a CEO, managing director and independent director in the news, digital, creative and media industries. He is the founder of Beech Hill Consultancy Ltd - an international communications and media advisory business.
His previous experience includes being CEO of Isle of Media, the national development agency for the Isle of Man digital and creative economy, and Chair of the Advisory Board.
He spent twelve years as Managing Director at UTV the Northern Ireland ITV licence and sat on the UTV Media plc Executive Board. He represented UTV on the Board of ITV Network Ltd. Prior to that Michael spent a decade at Sky News in several senior roles including Managing Editor: Sky News Ireland and Head of Newsgathering: Five News.
Michael was a long standing member of the Centres’ Council of the Royal Television Society and is former Chair of both the RTS in Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. He was a founder member of the Irish Film and Television Academy.
Michael joined the ACNI on 1 September 2021 and his appointment runs until 31 August 2027.
Aodhan O'Donnell
Aodhan has over twenty years’ experience working at senior management and CEO level focusing on policy and strategy development, whilst working to represent and secure change for consumers.
Previously Aodhan led the Digital Services, EU and International Co-operation unit with the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC, Ireland). In this role he led the CCPC role, as the national competent authority for Ireland, contribution to the EU Consumer Protection Network (CPC) and work in relation to digital regulation. The CPC Network provides a framework for national authorities to monitor and enforce consumer protection law, as well as cooperate on issues where widespread infringements of consumer law may be taking place across Member States. Within this role he led coordinated actions against major EU wide retailers and online platforms in order to prevent consumer harm.
He is also a Director with Power to Switch, an online service supporting consumers in Northern Ireland in relation to energy bills, energy efficiency and helping them take control of their home energy options. Previously, Aodhan was Director of Policy and Interim CEO with the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland where he led the organisations' statutory role to represent and protect consumer interests across a wide range of markets including postal services.
Aodhan joined the committee on 1 November 2022 and his appointment runs until 31 October 2028.
Paul Wickens
As Chief Executive, Paul established and led the shared services organisation within the Northern Ireland Civil Service, delivering ICT, HR, payroll, pensions, finance, and other cross-government services. His leadership generated over £300 million in cost savings across the public sector. As Government CIO, he was responsible for safeguarding and advancing critical national digital infrastructure, including cybersecurity, the public sector telecoms network, and data centres.
He also led the digital transformation of government services through the nidirect.gov.uk platform, making public services more accessible and efficient for citizens. This included international collaboration with the Estonian government—recognised as a global leader in digital public services—resulting in a formal agreement to share knowledge, resources, and best practices.
Paul brings a strong technical and commercial background from the private sector, having served as Managing Director of both a high-tech startup and a French IT services company operating in Ireland. His experience spans both public and private sectors, giving him deep insight into digital innovation, cybersecurity, and regulatory challenges in a rapidly evolving landscape. He has a particular interest in artificial intelligence, online safety, and autonomous technologies.
Paul was a Visiting Professor at Ulster University Business School until earlier in 2025. He joined ACNI on 1 September 2023, with his term running until 31 August 2029.
Uel Johnston
Uel Johnston has more than 35 years' experience in IT and the Telecommunications industry with BT plc. He has held a variety of senior management roles serving Global multinational businesses, UK Small Businesses and Consumers together with the UK Openreach communication provider marketplace. He specialises in developing and delivering large scale technology and innovation led business transformation strategies and has a track record of successfully delivering substantial customer experience enhancements alongside sustainable multi £m cost efficiency savings into operational service.
His previous career experience includes a variety of technical CIO IT leadership roles delivering innovative technologies, products and service outcomes. He played a leading role in the introduction of ‘Equivalence of Input’ creating Openreach and the level UK communications marketplace. His early experience spanned the full range of technical and software services.
Uel holds a BEng Honours degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from Queen’s University of Belfast. He is a Chartered Engineer and member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology,
Uel joined the Committee on 17 November 2025 and his appointment runs until 16 November 2028.
As well as the appointed Members of the Advisory Committee, the Content Board Member, and the Communications Consumer Panel Member for the respective Nations are invited to attend Advisory Committee Meetings.
In Northern Ireland this is:
- Carrie Matchett - Communications Consumer Panel
- Maria McCann - Content Board