The Office of the Information Commissioner was set up under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act, 1997, which came into effect in April 1998. The Information Commissioner may conduct reviews of the decisions of public bodies in relation to requests for access to information. In Ireland, the Information Commissioner also holds the position of Ombudsman. The first holder of the office was Kevin Murphy, the Ombudsman. In March 2003, the Government of Ireland nominated Emily O'Reilly to be Information Commissioner (and Ombudsman).
All other countries of the European Union and EEA have equivalent officials created under their versions of Directive 95/46. The website of the UK IC (http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk/) gives links to his counterparts around Europe.
