Profile of Ms Emily O'Reilly, Information Commissioner

On 11 June 2009, Emily O'Reilly was appointed to a second six year term as Ombudsman and Information Commissioner.

The Office of Information Commissioner was established in 1997 by the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. The primary role of the Commissioner is that of reviewing FOI decisions where the requester has exercised their right to an Internal Review of an FOI decision and, where settlement is not reached, issuing a binding decision which is open to appeal to the Higher Courts on a point of law. Additionally, the Information Commissioner promotes the operation of the FOI Act and, from time to time, publishes commentaries on the operation of the FOI Act.

In May 2007, following the introduction of the Access to Information on the Environment Regulations which transposed Directive 2003/4/EC into Irish law, Ms O'Reilly was assigned the Office of Commissioner for Environmental Information, the primary role being that of decising on appealdecidingt decisions taken by public authorities on requests for access to environmental information.

As Ombudsman, Ms O'Reilly's principal role is to investigate complaints from members of the public who feel they have been unfairly treated by government departments, local authorities, the health services and An Post. More information is available at www.ombudsman.gov.ie.

Ms O'Reilly is also a member of the Standards in Public Office Commission and the Public Appointments Commission.

Prior to her appointment as Information Commissioner and Ombudsman in June 2003, Ms O'Reilly was an accomplished journalist and author whose roles included many many years as a political correspondent with prominent print and broadcasting media. She is a native of Tullamore, Co. Offaly, and is married with five children. Ms O'Reilly is a graduate of University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin. She was also the recipient of a Niemann Fellowship in Journalism at Harvard University, Cambridge, U.S.A. In December 2008, Ms O'Reilly was awarded a Doctor of Laws by the National University of Ireland in recognition of her contribution to public service and to human rights.

You can read about the Information Commissioner's views on Freedom of Information in "A word from the Information Commissioner".