Jennifer Carroll MacNeill
Dún Laoghaire · Fine Gael · Ireland
“It will be provided by a registered pharmacist in accordance with the relevant pharmacy legislation, including this Bill. Section 2 of the Bill makes various amendments to the Irish Medicines Board Act and the Pharmacy Act. Those amendments ensure that whole legislative framework is cross-referenced correctly.”
“We now have a common conditions service where you can go to a pharmacy instead of a GP to get a diagnosis and prescription for eight basic conditions like conjunctivitis or urinary tract infections - the kind of things that just come up in people's lives all the time. We would like to expand more and more what pharmacies can do.”
“In particular, the board will be focusing on aspects of menstrual health, on aspects of postpartum mental health, particularly in traumatic birth cases, on something we have overlooked for some time, which is endometriosis, on women who are finding it difficult to access services in different ways, as Senator Harmon suggested, and on more…”
“The extension to 41- to 45-year-olds could possibly be €5 million to €8 million because there are statistically fewer women in that bracket trying to conceive, so the numbers are higher. It really is a question of funding. I remind Senators that they have also asked me to fund various other programmes.”
“That followed confirmation from the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland and the Health Products Regulatory Authority that the patch and ring are classified as medicinal products, not medical devices. That is just a correction there.”
“That is why we have put so much money into supporting them in different ways, including the conclusion of a €50 million increase to their fees and to provide for the opportunity to raise private funds in this way, for example, the common conditions service. I want to see pharmacists doing more.”
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“I thank the Senator for his comments. I am enormously sympathetic to the case he raised that informs his comments, as well as the advocacy that Andrew McGinley has channelled on behalf of his family and the way in which he has used that so constructively. There is a place for an analysis of how that data is appropriately shared and how that might be considered. I will speak to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, in that regard. This is quite technical legislation, however, with important safeguards that are linked to the broader European health data space and the way in which data is managed, protected and used in those different contexts.”
“We discussed the need for not just the patient care value of population-based health assessment, but how Europe might position itself more competitively by enabling access to healthcare data that might better inform life sciences and pharmaceuticals. I refer to driving both better patient care and the broader economy that Europe and Ireland are so well integrated with.”
“The resourcing and detailed project plans are in place. That is good news and progress. I expect all of the other section 38 hospitals to engage in the same way when it is their turn. An interim arrangement is also operating during 2026 whereby voluntary hospitals submit monthly financial data for upload to IFMS as the single national system for monthly financial reporting, pending the full implementation across all of the section 38 hospitals. I am also pleased to report that there has been renewed engagement in respect of the requirements under the EU statistical regulation, which I referenced on Second Stage. I might come back to that at a later stage. I highlight the importance of population-based health data. It was discussed among European health ministers at the informal European Council meeting in Cyprus last week.”
“That relates most particularly, but not limited, to integrated financial management systems. Senators will recall that I spoke of my frustration about the culture of not sharing and the obstacles to information that had been in place for some time. I am pleased that I can report not just progress in respect of the private service provider, but also some important updates with regard to the implementation of the integrated financial management system, IFMS, which has been the subject of great interest both in this House and at the public accounts committee, which sits elsewhere on this campus. The implementation of the integrated financial management system at the first two voluntary section 38 hospitals, St. James’s Hospital and Tallaght University Hospital, is progressing as planned, with strong local engagement. I thank them for that.”
“That is quite extensive and important. The amendment, along with previous amendments just discussed, recognises the huge value and potential of information when we have the full picture of where resources are and how they are being used for the benefit of both patients and the taxpayer. It moves beyond our current, more fragmented and siloed approach to health information management that, unfortunately, has frustrated the development of evidence-based policy and practice in Irish healthcare. The amendments will clarify more precisely the duty of health service providers to comply with requests from the HSE and share health information as necessary, including for the purposes of integrated service planning and the efficient and effective use of resources.”
“7 seeks to clarify the process for the sharing of health information by relevant persons in response to a request from the HSE. That amendment removes potentially inefficient criteria for sharing, acknowledging that sections 22 and 24 already provide a number of processing and procedural safeguards with regard to the HSE’s use of the power to mandate the provision of health information, including proportionality, data minimisation, purpose limitation and transparency measures. Amendment No. 8 further defines the purposes for which the HSE can request information from so-called relevant persons. They are in identical terms to amendment No. 5. Under the Bill, relevant persons include section 38 and 39 bodies and private providers with which the HSE has entered into an arrangement to provide health services.”
“The information contained in the electronic health records will also provide – this is important – valuable, population-based data sets that will enhance the HSE’s ability to carry out core functions around service planning and management, while also driving important efficiencies. The amendment provides further clarity in that regard. For the avoidance of doubt, the HSE may use the electronic health record for a number of specified public interest purposes, including for the purposes of integrated service planning and the efficient and effective use of resources. This is a recognition of the value of electronic healthcare records not only for care and treatment but for greater and more effective, evidence-based decision-making in our healthcare system. Amendment No.”
“One is the patient app, which we have discussed. I am told there are over 250,000 downloads of that app. The second is the national shared care record. The HSE began rolling that out in the Waterford-Wexford region last year and that pilot will inform the phased, nationwide roll-out throughout 2026 and 2027. I am pleased that last month, I secured Government approval for the HSE to begin the procurement phase for a national electronic health record. Electronic health records will ensure that the right information is available in the right place and at the right time, in line with the Sláintecare vision for integrated care. They will also provide patients with greater access to control over their personal health data.”
“The amendment clarifies that the definition of health information includes information relating to the provision and evaluation of health services. It will ensure there is even greater clarity as to the type of information the HSE can request under Part 4 of the Bill and for what purposes, namely, public interest purposes rather than to its statutory remit. Of course, this includes the need to secure the most beneficial, effective and efficient use of resources. Amendment No. 2 is a consequential amendment arising from that amendment to the definition of health information. Amendment No. 5 relates to the power of the HSE to use the electronic health record for specified public interest purposes. As I outlined on Second Stage, there are a number of critical building blocks on the path to full digitalisation of the health records.”
“I am happy to confirm that this private hospital has now enthusiastically agreed to share information, as appropriate, and is engaging with the Department of Health in that regard, which is very good news. Nevertheless, we proceed with the Bill in the context of all the other cases on which we need to share information. That is the purpose of these amendments. What is proposed will support greater and more effective use of health information and is, therefore, a critical step in moving beyond our current, more fragmented approach to information sharing towards a more transparent and accessible view of the health system. Amendment No. 1 relates to a change within the definition of health information. It will provide additional clarity on what information is in scope under that heading.”
“These amendments relate to the power of the HSE under the Bill to request health information for important public interest purposes beyond care and treatment. On Second Stage, I spoke about how we are seeking to transform the culture of information sharing in the health service. Part 4 of the Bill sets out a number of specified public interest purposes, including service planning and performance management, in respect of which the HSE can request and receive health information from entities across the health sector. Senators will recall that we had a conversation about the sharing of information between private hospitals. They will also will recall their dissatisfaction with a private hospital not having shared information to enable the State to comply with its European regulatory obligations.”
“I am simply setting out some of the realities around some of the decisions that will ultimately have to be made at a later stage.”
“Again, the State will always have to be acutely conscious of the pricing decision and that pricing decision is going to come at an earlier stage. The State has to have the opportunity to negotiate on behalf of the State and the taxpayer to get the best value. We want to make sure we have access to many medications for all forms of disease, but especially rare diseases, as part of the rare disease strategy. It is very important that I set those pieces out. It is for the company to make the application. It is for us to respond to that in an appropriate and timely way. There is a price calculation at the end of that. I have set out the broad budgetary parameters around what we are spending on drugs at the moment. Of course, there is not a single person in the Oireachtas who does not want to support every person in the State.”
“The Department would always be happy to speak with any other parties in the pharmaceutical sector. It is important to point out that the 180-day period is for the decision from the application through the HTA process to reimbursement. I know there is a bit of a disconnect here. Because something has been EMA-approved, there is an assumption that that consideration is happening in the HSE. That only happens if the drug company makes an application in Ireland and that is not always the case for a lot of different reasons. For example, in addition to the commitment on pricing and reimbursement decisions within 180 days, the IPHA member companies will aim to shorten their timeline to submit reimbursement applications in Ireland to within six months of formal authorisation by the EMA. That is another important part of the timeline.”
“Those mechanisms are quite complex and the potential impacts have to be considered carefully. I thank the Senator for giving me the opportunity to discuss the matter.”
“The pricing is an important part of the reimbursement decisions that will ultimately have to be made in respect of rare disease drugs, as every other drug, and the State has to try to get the best value for money to continue to support as many people as possible within the budget, even though that budget is expanding. It is also important to say that, as part of the framework agreements to which I referred, the State and the pharmaceutical sector have agreed to establish a strategic partnership on the development of sandboxed early access for rare diseases. That is a proof of concept initiative. It aligns with the commitments in the programme for Government. In parallel, my officials have examined reimbursement systems throughout the European Union. They will bring forward further proposals in the coming months.”
“That is nearly €4 billion, which is more than twice the complete spend on the Department of Defence. The Department of justice spends €6 billion in the whole year for all the salaries of An Garda Síochána and the justice system in its entirety. That is to put the €4 billion in context. It is a very significant amount of money. What are we spending . that on? We are spending it on medication people get in hospital, that people get through their pharmacist that is paid for by the State. Even where a person pays €80 in the pharmacy, it is not that the drugs cost €80, it is that the State pays for the rest of it. Those are benefits to the taxpayer and to people living in Ireland in the healthcare system.”
“Those agreements work alongside and indeed supersede some of the other work because they provide the commitment and structured process towards achieving a 180-day timeline for completing the health technology assessment and the reimbursement decisions. That is a significant change from the current waiting period. It is important to remember that there has been an additional €158 million in funding in the past four years. We have delivered access to 250 new medicines in that time, about 110 of which were for cancer and 69 were for rare diseases. While we have allocated another €30 million in funding specifically for new medicines, at the moment we spend close to €4 billion every year on drugs. The pressure of that on our budget is significant.”
“As implementation of the strategy progresses, it is of course intended that patient representation will be a key feature and will be embedded in all structures. I have a couple of updates on the pricing and reimbursement system. There has been dramatically increased resourcing across the pricing and reimbursement system, with 34 new people hired to work in it. That is essentially a doubling of that team, which is very important. There is also the development of a tracker to increase transparency. Since the negotiation of the agreements in principle on the supply and pricing of medicines with the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association and Medicines for Ireland, those agreements will commence this year and last until the end of 2029.”
“I thank Senator Ní Chuilinn for raising this important matter. Supporting those living with rare diseases is a priority for me as Minister and for the Oireachtas. It is important to remember that 300,000 people, as the Senator said, are living with a rare disease. While the disease may be rare, the fact of living with a rare disease is not. On foot of that, the national rare disease strategy was launched in August 2025. The Department of Health will now ensure its implementation and its vision to ensure that all people living with a rare disease have fair, equitable, inclusive, safe and cross-sectoral care throughout their journey. An implementation oversight group has been launched. It met in February and that implementation work is under way. Work has begun on planning for the 11 recommendations.”
“There is a clear opportunity to build on that in the Errigal hub, which is an excellent facility across the road from Letterkenny University Hospital.”
“The Deputy is right. What we did in Letterkenny and Sligo was additional, and not instead of. It was not a regional spread but it was additional. That is very important. In relation to diabetes, the Deputy is right that there is a very good hub, the Benbulbin hub in Sligo, dealing with diabetes, respiratory and cardiology. What we want to see is that replicated in other parts of the country, such as Letterkenny. That is what we are trying to do. The Deputy will be aware that Letterkenny has the very excellent virtual community care centre in the Errigal hub, which provides countrywide leading services for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, and other respiratory illnesses.”
“In relation to Swords, I am pleased to announce today €1.4 million in the HSE capital plan to take the premises the Deputy referenced to design feasibility stage, which is positive progress. In relation to a primary care centre in Donabate, we have had to look at other options for delivering it because the tender did not work; it was not value for money for the State to progress with the tender that came into us. We are trying to see what other options are possible to cater for that growing population. Today, I am announcing a total of approximately €25 million investment for Beaumont Hospital, which is of course relevant to the people off the Deputy’s area. I will keep him up-to-date in relation to Donabate and what options are possible.”
“We do recognise the very considerable the impact that many of these drugs - without speaking to any one of them in particular - would have on people's lives and the cost of that to the State. Reconciling that is something the Taoiseach and I are very aware of.”
“I was very pleased to meet with Eric, Emily, Niamh, David and Oisín. I thank the Deputy for bringing them in. I have already followed up on the different physiotherapy and other supports that should be due to them and to get an assessment of what they should be getting and what they are getting. With regard to the drug, we have a series of different drugs that are coming on stream. The Taoiseach and I have discussed the increasing the drugs budget. We are very aware of how much we are already spending on that, how much we want to provide and where we need to go with that. Crucially, with regard to one of their asks, we are shortening the process for the assessment of the reimbursement process, which is going to be 180 days.”
“As legislators, therefore, it requires us to make absolutely clear what that law is. I will be seeking the Seanad's support for those Committee Stage amendments in due course.”
“I will add to section 22 a reference to integrated service planning and effective and efficient use of resources within the public interest purpose of policymaking and regulatory activities. It would put beyond all doubt the absolute clear obligation of health services providers to implement the IFMS and share date for this purpose of policymaking, integrated service planning and the effective and efficient use of resources. There have been concerns in relation to the role of company directors and charities regulators in that. Of course, it should not be for any person in this House. Senators are more than aware that the first duty of any person in this State or any corporate entity operating in this State is, of course, to comply with the law first and foremost beyond anything else.”
“Notwithstanding that the IFMS is already in the service level agreement of those hospitals, it has been a challenge over the last 12 months to make progress on that. I have referenced the private hospital data sharing piece. I have to say that given our lived experience of a poor culture of data sharing across the Irish health services, I did instruct my officials to work with the Attorney General's office to review the text of this Bill. On the back of that work, I wish to inform Senators that I will be proposing a small number of specific amendments to the Bill at the next Stage, which is Seanad Committee Stage, which will clarify again and even more precisely the duty of health services providers to share health information to the HSE.”
“Crucially, however, at the end of the day, if I, on behalf of the Irish taxpayer, am giving hundreds of millions of euro to any entity then I have an obligation to be able to see what that is. I have written to all of the voluntary hospitals. I am very pleased to update the Senate that I have received positive responses from all of the section 38 hospitals, as well as good progress on the ground in terms of implementation. I will call out St. James's and Tallaght hospitals in particular for very good progress in relation to the implementation of that, which is no surprise. It is a very good hospital in Tallaght. There is progress in relation to all of the others. I want to highlight, too, because of our lived experience, the two examples I have given Senators.”
“We fund the section 38 hospitals, which have come from a different historical background, and that is fine. However, where they are receiving the overwhelming portion - 95%, 96% or 98% - of their funding from the State then they have to comply with the State's rules in relation to how we monitor and track spending. The benefit of that is we get insight into how we might better procure information. If we can track all of the product codes, say, product code 0001, that all the hospitals are buying and we now know how many are being bought, maybe we can get better value for the Irish State for doing that procurement in a different way. Maybe we can manage costs in a different way. Maybe we can make sure of better standardisation by having that information and being able to track that.”
“That data has been requested from 2024 for the purposes of fulfilling our EU regulatory requirement and all of the private healthcare providers have now shared their data with the Department of Health statistical team but for this private hospital. I find that unacceptable, and I am appalled that I have to bring that to the attention of the Seanad, but it is relevant to all of the patients in that hospital that their data be shared in the same broad population benefit way that I am describing. It is just as important that we are tracking data and spend from a governance perspective, as Senator Ryan referenced, with the financial management integrated system, the IFMS. We are a small country, and we cannot have disparate financial management systems. The State funds healthcare in Ireland. That is the policy we have all adopted.”
“That means a couple of things. It means a legal basis for sharing data. It means that the HSE is the body that collects that data. It means that everybody shares the data and, again, I share Senators' frustration that there would be any entity in Ireland, with licensed medical practitioners with a licence to practise medicine in this State, which would not co-operate. I find it astonishing that a private healthcare provider in Ireland would not co-operate with the repeated requests of the Irish State, including at Secretary General level, and that I have to raise in the Seanad that an engagement going back to 2024 to share detailed healthcare activity in fulfilment of an EU regulation would not have been complied with. It is quite astonishing. There is an obligation on that healthcare provider to comply with the regulation.”
“Even if I choose to restrict access to my information, which I may as a citizen, that break-glass provision in an emergency situation enables people to be able to treat me in the best way. It is also really important that my health data, as much as everybody else's, is shared in an anonymised way in order that we get a better sense of a population health database so that we can learn about what the trends are and what is happening. Then, it is even more important that we share that information at a European level in order that we are learning about where population health is going in an anonymised way, of course. I want to be, and I want my kids to be the beneficiaries of sharing information in real time in a real way where we can benefit in terms of diagnoses, trends and everything else. There is a huge value in that.”
“That has to be a single integrated system, so that is what we are working towards. As I said, we are literally going to market. The HSE is going to market on that. That is what we are working towards. This Bill gives us the legislative underpinning to do all of that. That is the purpose of this Bill. It is really important. I thank Senators for their support for it. I greatly appreciate it. There are huge benefits from electronic health records. One of them is clearly that if I have had a trauma and turn up at a hospital I do not normally attend, they can access all of the details, such as what my background was, what injuries I may have, what allergies I have or what medications I am on. It is so obvious that it is in my interest that information be available and shared.”
“I thank Senators and the Cathaoirleach. Last week, I secured Government approval for funding for the broad electronic health record - the completely integrated system - and to go to market. We know there are vendors interested, and I will be going back to Government once there is a sense of what the market is saying in relation to bidding for that. There are three stages to electronic health records. One is the patient app, which Senator Costello referenced. Nearly 150,000 people have downloaded that. The second stage is the shared care record. We are rolling that out in one of the regions already. We are doing it region by region. That is the complete picture of a patient's record within hospital but then, as the Senator correctly said, what we ultimately want is the integrated system ranging from GP to community provider to pharmacist.”
“This time, the hospitals received the SLA within 2025 for 2026 and they were given instructions that we expected them to be returned by 15 January. I will update Senators on the progress of that process on Committee Stage. While the adoption of IFMS is progressing through the service level agreements, this legislation will provide absolute clarity in law in respect of the HSE's authority to request and receive health information. That is why it is really important. I will have to come back to the details because I do not want to go over the time.”
“All section 38 and voluntary hospitals are expected to proactively co-operate with the implementation of IFMS and other key national systems. Service arrangements entered into between the HSE and voluntary hospitals now specifically commit to the introduction and implementation of IFMS and contain various provisions that outline the level of co-operation required to ensure appropriate levels of monitoring and governance, without prejudice to their independence and autonomy. As with our engagements with private hospitals, I am happy to update Senators on Committee Stage on the HSE's progress in securing sign-off on service-level agreements, SLAs. We are doing it quite differently this year. It had been the case that voluntary hospitals received their SLA too late and also signed it too late.”
“It is my belief that the alignment of financial reporting across the publicly funded health sector through the use of IFMS is a crucial transparency measure for the State to ensure value for investment across the health service. As of July 2025, IFMS had been deployed to all hospital sites directly managed by the HSE, which means some 80% of all hospital expenditure is now managed through IFMS. Planning is under way on the timeline for further extending IFMS to the voluntary hospitals, as well as to other voluntary providers. I appreciate that I am out of time. It is important that I can come back to this in the closing remarks. I am in the hands of the Cathaoirleach.”
“Indeed, they may not care as long as they are getting good healthcare but what they will care about is the fact that the State funds all of those hospitals and that the legislation that we are now introducing makes absolutely clear that we expect that hospitals that benefit from the use of public funds across the health sector have a requirement for greater efficiency, oversight and, fundamentally, transparency. IFMS is a single, integrated financial management system designed to improve financial reporting, expenditure analysis and forecasting across the health sector. It is part of the wider health service financial reform programme.”
“Likewise, Senators may be aware of the delays that I have seen, or the barriers to the implementation of the integrated financial management system, IFMS, among certain section 38 hospitals in receipt of enormous recurring public funding on an annual basis. These are hospitals like, for example, the Mater and St. James's, the voluntary hospitals. People going into a hospital may not be aware if they are in a HSE hospital or a section 38 hospital.”
“The objective of that regulation is to provide internationally comparable data on healthcare facilities, resources and utilisation, offering a transparent and accessible view of the broader healthcare system and population-based data sharing. However, while there is now good engagement with the majority of private hospitals in this regard, it has taken us 18 months to get to this point and, even still, one private hospital remains unwilling to share the data required with the Department in order for Ireland to fully comply with this EU regulation. One private hospital is unwilling to share its patients' data, so that Ireland can comply with an EU regulation to gather patient data for the broader benefit of Irish patients. This is completely unacceptable. I propose to update Senators on the nature of this engagement on Committee Stage.”
“Section 21 provides for HSE guidelines in relation to the Act and persons who have to be consulted, etc. Part 4 is very important. It sets out a number of specified public interest purposes, including service planning and performance management, for which the HSE can request and receive health information from entities across the healthcare sector. The provisions set out under Part 4 will support greater and effective use of health information. They are an absolutely critical step to moving beyond our current, often fragmented and, may I say, even reluctant approach to information sharing. As an example of that reluctant approach, Senators may be interested to learn of the challenges we continue to have in fulfilling Ireland’s obligation under EU statistical Regulation 2294 of 2022.”
“The HSE will be required to put in place appropriate logging and auditing functions to enable patients to know what has been accessed, by whom and when. Section 16 provides for the Minister's regulation powers. Section 17 provides that electronic health records may be used by health service providers for the purposes of care and treatment and by the HSE for specified public interest purposes relevant to the statutory remit, namely, public and occupational health policymaking regulatory activities. Section 18 provides that the HSE may enter into a reciprocal agreement with equivalent bodies and so-called third countries. Section 19 sets out the manner which the HSE can request the provision of personal health data. Section 20 sets out the process in the event of non-compliance with any requests.”
“Section 14 provides that a patient can restrict access to information in his or her record so that it cannot be seen by health services providers. The HSE is required to inform the patient that such a restriction could impact on the care that he or she receives but, again, we are trying to empower patients to make the decisions they wish to make. The section also provides that health service providers may access such restricted information in emergency situations where access is needed to protect the vital interests of the patient. Any use of that break-glass provision needs to be recorded and the details made available to the patient. Section 15 provides that a patient has the right to obtain information on access to his or her electronic health record.”
“It also provides that patients can request rectification of information contained in their record and that a health services provider can restrict access by a patient or appropriate person to information where that would be likely to cause harm to the physical or mental health to the patient. Any such restriction has to be necessary and proportionate and should only apply to the part of the electronic health record that would give rise to concern. The HSE will also be required to adopt the necessary safeguards to ensure the security of records to guard against improper access, meeting the requirements of the EHDS regulations and complying with EU-wide legislation on cybersecurity, including the NIS2 directive.”
“Those stronger identification processes will help enhance patient safety, security of access and data linkage. Section 12 confirms that providers may collect a patient's PPSN to ensure safer, more accurate information. It is really important to note that patients will not be refused a health service solely because they have not been allocated or issued with the PPSN or they are not in a position to provide that. It is an effort to streamline health services so that we know who we are treating and that we are collecting information for a single identified person. Section 13 provides that an electronic health record may be accessed by the patient, a health services provider or an employer or agent for the purposes of record maintenance.”
“These contents mirror the categories under the European health data space, EHDS, regulations, such as prescriptions, dispensations, medical imaging studies, medical test results, discharge reports, etc. The patient summary contains 18 information subcategories, which together give a high-level overview of a patient's health. Those categories have been developed at EU level and contain information on diagnoses, medications, allergies, procedures, etc., while patient-provided data reflects the right of patients to insert information on their own electronic health records. That is clearly distinguishable from the information that is put in by a health services provider. The Bill provides for the best practice use of eircode and PPSN to uniquely identify patients in line with national digital strategy and public service identity management.”
“Ensuring that the right information is available in the right place at the right time is fundamental for delivering on Sláintecare's vision of integrated care. Electronic health records will not only support patient access to and control over their own data, but it also provides health professionals with a more complete and holistic view of patients they are treating. The creation of electronic health records will also provide vital population-based data, which will enhance the HSE's ability to carry out the core functions of service planning and management while also driving efficiency and better care. Section 10 empowers the HSE to create and assign each person electronic health records. Section 11 sets out the information to be contained in said health record.”
“Section 8 introduces a legal obligation on a health services provider to forward a patient's personal health data to another health services provider at a patient's request. Section 9 places an obligation on any health services provider that intends to cease providing health services to notify their patients about the date on which they intend to do so, and the arrangements they are putting in place to ensure their patients' personal health data can be made available to another health services provider for care or treatment. In essence, the health services provider does not own the data. The patient is in charge of their data and the State is the manager for that. Part 3, sections 10 to 21, inclusive, provides for the creation and assignment of electronic health records for every patient in Ireland.”
“Part 1 provides definitions of important terms used in the Bill as well as the standard provisions including commencement and regulation-making powers. It also provides that the operation of the Act must be reviewed within five years of enactment and a report laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. Part 2 provides for a statutory duty to share, and contains sections 7 to 9, inclusive. Section 7 places a statutory duty on all health services providers, whether they be public, private or voluntary. Everybody has an obligation to share personal health data with other health services providers for the purposes of patient care and treatment. The HSE is tasked with setting out guidelines on the information to be shared, how it is to be shared and within what periods.”