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Who Is The Ombudsman?

Ms Emily O'Reilly was appointed Ireland's third Ombudsman on the 1st June 2003 by the President of Ireland, Mrs Mary McAleese, on the nomination of each of the Houses of the Oireachtas (Dáil and Seanad). Prior to her appointment, Ms O'Reilly was a journalist and author and had been a political correspondent for various media since 1989.

The Ombudsman is also Ireland's second Information Commissioner appointed under the Freedom of Information Act, 1997. In this role, which is separate and distinct from her role as Ombudsman, Ms O'Reilly provides an independent review of decisions relating to the right of access of members of the public to information held by public bodies.

She is also a member of the Standards in Public Office Commission which was set up under the Ethics in Public Office Act, 1995 and of the Dail Constituency Commission and the Referendum Commission and the Commission for Public Service Appointments.

Ms O'Reilly is a native of Tullamore, Co Offaly and is married with five children. She was educated at University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin. She was also the recipient of a Nieman Fellowship in Journalism at Harvard University, Cambridge, USA.