Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 2, 2026
Who holds the health record in Ireland?
In 2026, Ireland scores 47 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 60th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 48th to 87th allowing for scoring error, in the Mixed band (45 to 64). Who holds the keys: the government. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026.
The government decides, with limited say for the person. Its strongest right, compared with the typical country, is your say over research use (70 out of 100, against 46 for the typical country). No right falls below the typical country; the closest to it is control over who sees it (30 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country).
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 October 2, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Mixed band, 45 to 64
47/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 48th to 87th, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 55 out of 100 in Ireland; the typical country scores 40 to 45. 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. Source: Citizens Information, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Ireland?
In 2026, the government holds the keys to your health record in Ireland. Control over who sees it scores 30 out of 100 in Ireland; the typical country scores 30. 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. Source: HSE, March 2026, and the other sources below.
How does Ireland compare?
In 2026, Ireland scores 47 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Greenland (47 out of 100), Belarus (46 out of 100) and North Macedonia (45 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Greenland, Belarus, North Macedonia, the typical EU country and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
55
30 · 50 · 60
Control over who sees it20%
30
44 · 45 · 28
Privacy and security15%
56
50 · 35 · 42
One record across your care15%
38
64 · 55 · 52
Protection from sale and ads10%
58
55 · 45 · 48
Doctors see it when treating you10%
36
66 · 50 · 50
Your say over research use5%
70
49 · 49 · 46
Rules for AI in your care5%
50
20 · 40 · 30
Black dot: Ireland. Hollow dots: Greenland, Belarus, North Macedonia (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Dashed teal line: the typical EU country. Overall: Ireland 47 out of 100, the typical EU country 61. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a 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. Every right is at or above the typical country. The two with the most room to grow, weighted by how much each counts, are control over who sees it (30 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country) and one record across your care (38 out of 100, against 38 for the typical country). Our scoring rules give more points for:
Control over who sees it: A way to say no to sharing (or to be asked first), a log you can read of who opened your record, and finer choices about who sees what. Together these put this right at 60 to 80 out of 100.
One record across your care: Family doctors, hospitals, labs, pharmacies, insurers and public health all linked to one record that is used across the country.
Which laws give health record rights in Ireland?
Health Information Act 2026 (No. 10 of 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): Explicit consent is a required safeguard for health research, unless the HRCDC grants a declaration.
Data Protection Act 2018: Irish GDPR law; fines on public bodies capped at 1 million euros (s. 141).
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
39.9 2024 · 16th highest of 38 OECD countries
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
154 2024 · 4th highest of 38 OECD countries
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
21.9% 2023 · 21st highest of 35 OECD countries
Record reaches private care?
partly
"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"
Real cases
June 30, 2026 · Data Protection Commission (Annual Report 2025 case studies) Patient's request to correct GP record went unanswered until the regulator asked
June 30, 2026 · Data Protection Commission (Annual Report 2025 case studies) · archived copy GP surgery emailed a patient's details unencrypted to the wrong person
In 2026, Ireland scored 47 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 60th of 198 countries and territories (could be 48th to 87th), in the Mixed band. Who holds the keys: the government. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/ireland/
The 23 sources for Ireland
Each source appears once, under the first right it supports. Titles are shown as our research agents recorded them, usually in the page's own language; text in square brackets is our machine translation. Links were checked on the date shown.
Getting your full record (4 sources)
“Access to medical records in the public healthcare system”
Citizens Information (government guidance) · Title in English
No date recorded · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
SuperTruth Inc. · 24 S. 24th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA · +1 215 918 4140 · supertruth.ai Something wrong? Tell us · Questions 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™: the Data Trust Index, which grades the evidence behind each score. SuperTruth makes it and publishes this index. 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/ireland/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Our scores and our own words are CC BY 4.0; quoted law and source titles stay with their owners.
