Kevin Murphy 1994-2003

Kevin Murphy was Ireland’s second  Ombudsman, serving two terms  from 1994 until 2003. Prior to his appointment as Ombudsman, Mr. Murphy was Secretary General in charge of the public service at the Department of Finance. He was also Chairman of the Top Level Appointments Committee which advises the Government on appointments to the very top levels of the Irish civil service

In addition to his role as Ombudsman, Mr. Murphy was the Chairman of the Public Offices Commission (set up under the Ethics in Public Office Act, 1995) and a member of both the Constituency Commission and of the Referendum Commission (when established). He was also appointed Information Commissioner when the Freedom of Information Act, 1997 came into force on 21 April 1998.

Kevin Murphy died on 6 March 2012 at the age of 75, following an illness.

Emily O’Reilly, (Ombudsman 2003-2013) said of Mr. Murphy; "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 doing so, 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.