The former ombudsman Kevin Murphy has died aged 75.
Mr Murphy was appointed as ombudsman in 1994, when he succeeded the first ombudsman, Michael Mills. He added the post of Information Commissioner in 1998 following the passage of the Freedom of Information Act.
Mr Murphy retired in 2003 and was replaced by Emily O’Reilly. He is survived by his wife, Kay, and his children Deirdre, Colm, Niamh and Caitriona. Ms O’Reilly paid tribute to her predecessor, who she said bore his debilitating illness with “immense courage and good humour”. “Building on the work of the first ombudsman, the late Michael Mills, Kevin moved to instil good practices in all of the public bodies the office dealt with. He developed principles of good administration, complaint handling and customer service and in so doing helped to focus the attention of public officials on the needs of the people they served, rather than on the interests of the public bodies themselves,” she said.
Mr Murphy’s removal will take place at the Lady of Perpetual Succour Church, Foxrock, tomorrow with burial Mass the following morning.