Ombudsman’s speech - Dangerous to dismiss arguments

OMBUDSMAN and information commissioner Emily O’Reilly is a highly respected public official. She has been prominent in public affairs for several decades. Her contributions to public discourse have been reasoned and pragmatic.

We can be fairly certain that she is not a Sendero Luminoso sleeper intent on destroying this Republic or even Irish capitalism. Rather, she is the kind of person who wants this country to succeed. The kind of person who wants our institutions to observe the highest standards because only by doing so they will be successful.

It should not be necessary to point these things out but in the context of her speech yesterday it is important to establish that we are dealing with a member of the establishment, not an extremist.