| Book reviews: Tales of an ombudsman  Michael
Mills spent 20 years as political correspondent for The Irish Press and
was Ireland’s first Ombudsman. Rí-rá looks at his
account of that time and reviews the best of the rest.
The memoir of Michael Mills — a journalist and broadcaster who
became Ireland’s first Ombudsman — was launched by Professor
Brian Farrell in the Royal Irish Academy.
Hurler On The Ditch includes an account of the author’s years as
political correspondent of The Irish Press, a post he held for some 20
years, during which time he wrote about the Arms Crisis, which is covered
here in some detail.
In the chapter Political Profiles he writes about Sean Lemass, Jack Lynch
and the rise of Charles J. Haughey about whom he says: “I could
never rid myself of the belief that there was a basic flaw in his character.
With the passage of the year, and as he went further up the ladder of
success, his undesirable traits became all the more obvious, until I became
convinced that he was a considerable threat to the democratic process.”
Michael Mills was one of the first panelists on RTÉ’s Hurler
On The Ditch, which could claim through its pressure on the political
parties to have succeeded in making a breakthrough in government policy
in relation to the amount of annual increases in government social welfare
spending.
The author was Ireland’s first Ombudsman. He recalls the telephone
call he received from the Minister for the Public Service, John Boland.
“I was very flattered to be chosen but I told him frankly that I
knew nothing about the job. He said: ‘Welcome to the club; nobody
else knows anything about it either’.”
He describes the sense of mistrust many civil servants had for his office
and the difficulties they found themselves in when their budget was cut
by 20 per cent by a Fianna Fail government. He survived a plot by senior
civil servants to oust him from the post and retained his position until
1994, when he reached the statutory age limit of 67.
During his time as Ombudsman he became acquainted with many of the problems
of older people in regard to failure to obtain particular benefits, delays
in dealing with their queries and the failure of many public servants
to appreciate the difficulties faced by elderly people in dealing with
bureaucracy.
Although some reforms have been put in place, he still considers that
there is a great need for an on-going and constant effort to secure the
rights of elderly citizens.
Michael Mills grew up in Co. Laois. After a period training to be a priest,
he joined the staff of the People newspaper group in Wexford as a junior
reporter. After a number of swift promotions he moved to The Irish Press
where he was appointed drama critic and later political correspondent
in 1964. He held this position until his appointment, some two decades
later as Ireland’s first Ombudsman.
Hurler on the Ditch: Memoir of a Journalist Who Became Ireland’s
First Ombudsman is published by Currach Press priced €13.99/£9.99.
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