Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of 2026-10-02
Who holds the health record in Ireland?
In 2026, Ireland scores 47 of 100 on a person's right to see, control and share their own health record: rank 60= of 198 countries (likely range 48 to 87), in the Mixed band (45 to 64). Who holds the keys: State. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of 2026-10-02.
The government decides, with limited individual say. Its strongest right against the other countries is research and trial consent (70, against a median of 46 across 198 countries); no right falls below the median, and the closest to it is patient control and consent (30, median 30).
Irish records are still largely paper, but a national Shared Care Record went live for clinicians in 2026; patient controls are legislated, not in force.
Published · updated · this country's data as of 2026-10-02 · research tool, not legal advice
47overall, of 100 · Mixed
60=rank of 198
Statewho holds the keys
highconfidence
92 · Platinumevidence grade (DTI)
Can I get my health records in Ireland?
Access to the full record scores 55 of 100 in Ireland, against a median of 43 across 198 countries. Patients have a free GDPR and FOI right to their whole record, but get it by writing to each hospital or service. The HSE Health App shows only part of the record (appointments, waiting lists, vaccines) and had about 125,000 registered users in January 2026.
Can I control who sees my health record in Ireland?
Control and consent scores 30 of 100 in Ireland, against a median of 30 across 198 countries. The new Shared Care Record shares data by default on a public interest basis, with no opt-out found and no patient-readable access log. Rights to restrict access and to be told who looked are in the Health Information Act 2026 but not commenced.
Eight rights, against Greenland, Belarus, North Macedonia and the EU
Patient access to the full record20%
55
30 · 50 · 60
Patient control and consent20%
30
44 · 45 · 28
Privacy and security15%
56
50 · 35 · 42
Connected care journey15%
38
64 · 55 · 52
Protection from commercial use10%
58
55 · 45 · 48
Clinician access at the point of care10%
36
66 · 50 · 50
Research and trial consent5%
70
49 · 49 · 46
Clinical AI governance5%
50
20 · 40 · 30
Black dot: Ireland. Hollow dots: Greenland, Belarus, North Macedonia (scores on the right, same order). Grey line: median of all 198 countries. Dashed teal line: EU median. Overall: Ireland 47, EU median 61. Scores move in steps of about 5; read the rank with its likely range.
What would Ireland need to change to score higher?
Ireland sits in Mixed (45 to 64); Strong starts at 65. The two rights furthest below the 198-country median, weighted, are patient control and consent (30, median 30) and connected care journey (38, median 38). The published rubric reads:
Patient control and consent: An opt-out or opt-in, a patient-visible access log and granular choices together put control at 60 to 80.
Connected care journey: Primary care, hospitals, labs, pharmacy, claims and public health linked to one record and used at national scale.
Which laws give health record rights in Ireland?
Health Information Act 2026 (No. 10 of 2026) (2026): National EHR for every patient, duty to share, restriction and access-notice rights; key sections not commenced.
Data Protection Act 2018 (Section 36(2)) (Health Research) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 314/2018) (2018): Explicit consent is a required safeguard for health research, unless the HRCDC grants a declaration.
Data Protection Act 2018 (2018): Irish GDPR law; fines on public bodies capped at 1 million euros (s. 141).
Strain and split context, not scored
Doctors per 10,000
39.9 2024 · OECD 16 of 38
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
154 2024 · OECD 4 of 38
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
21.9% 2023 · OECD 21 of 35
Record reaches private care?
partial
"It is a secure clinical system that gives authorised healthcare staff read-only access to key patient information from various sources. These include:
hospitals
primary care
community services
eventually, private healthcare providers"
Published stories
2026-06-30 · Data Protection Commission (Annual Report 2025 case studies) Patient's request to correct GP record went unanswered until the regulator asked
2026-06-30 · Data Protection Commission (Annual Report 2025 case studies) GP surgery emailed a patient's details unencrypted to the wrong person
In 2026, Ireland scored 47 of 100 on a person's right to see, control and share their own health record, rank 60= of 198 countries (likely range 48 to 87) (Mixed; who holds the keys: State). Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of 2026-10-02, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/IRL/
SuperTruth Inc. · 24 S. 24th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA · +1 215 918 4140 · supertruth.ai Questions, corrections or a briefing: supertruth.ai/on-the-record#contact · Full index: healthrecordrights.com
OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (38 mostly high-income countries). DTI: SuperTruth's Data Trust Index, grading the evidence behind each score. Everything here comes from public information: laws, government and regulator pages, court decisions, published news, WHO, OECD and World Bank data. Full sources: https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/IRL/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Text and scores CC BY 4.0.
