The CEO of Irish Water's parent company is stepping down
Michael McNicholas will leave his job as head of Ervia next May.
THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE of Irish Water’s parent company, Ervia, is to step down from his role.
Michael McNicholas today announced he will leave the job next May, by which stage he will have marked his fourth year in the lead position.
Ervia is the company responsible for Ireland’s gas and water infrastructure.
“While we respect Michael’s decision, we very much regret losing someone of his calibre from our organisation,” Ervia chairman Tony Keohane said in a statement.
“Michael has played a key role in the establishment of Ervia and has led the company through its complex and demanding evolution from its origins as Bord Gáis Éireann.”
No easy decision
In the same statement, McNicholas said the decision to leave Ervia, which owns Gas Networks Ireland as well as the unpopular semi-state water company, had “not been an easy one”.
“While my time at the company has been very challenging it has also been very rewarding.
“I have had the privilege of working with exceptional people who have given everything they can to make this company successful.”
Despite the controversy attached to Irish Water, which has been rated Ireland’s least-reputable brand for two years running, McNicholas said his reasons for leaving Ervia were ”purely personal”.
“There are other opportunities I wish to explore in my career and personal life and this decision affords me the time and space to do this,” he said.
Before taking up the top job at Ervia, McNicholas was the CEO at sustainable energy firm NTR and an executive director at state electricity supplier ESB.
Ervia says it will now begin the process of finding McNicholas’s successor.
Reporting by Cianan Brennan and Peter Bodkin.
