Hurler on the Ditch: From Journalist to Ombudsman

Michael Mills was Ireland’s first Ombudsman and held the post from 1984 to 1995. During that time he became acquainted at first hand with many of the problems of older people in regard to failure to obtain particular benefits to 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 ongoing and constant effort to secure the rights of elderly citizens. For most of his life, he worked as a journalist and broadcaster on matters of political interest. He was political correspondent of The Irish Press for some twenty years, during which time he wrote about the Arms Crisis, which is covered here in some detail, Sean Lemaa, Jack Lynch and the rise of Charles J. Haughey. He was also one of the first panelists on the television programme ‘The 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 social welfare spending.