Emily O'Reilly is an author and former journalist and broadcaster who became Ireland's first female Ombudsman in 2003, succeeding Kevin Murphy.

[citation needed] In 1991 she made an extended appearance on the British television discussion programme After Dark, alongside among others Patrick Cosgrave, J. P. Donleavy, David Norris and Francis Stuart.

[10][11] On 1 June 2003, she received her warrant of appointment from the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, at Áras an Uachtaráin.

She mentioned the Irish Revenue Commissioners in this context, pointing out that a significant proportion of the clients of these bodies "do not have access to the web" and therefore the level of personal contact is inadequate as a consequence.

[19] She advised that the Act should be extended to include a number of public bodies previously exempted from the law, including the Garda Síochána, the Central Bank of Ireland and the National Asset Management Agency[20] and that fees charged were a further inhibitor.