Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We passed the Health Identifiers Act in 2014. I remember speaking on it at the time. I thought this was the precursor for everything in terms of implementing this.

When I go my local GP or speak to the staff on the phone, I am asked for my name and for my date of birth in case there is confusion, for example if there is somebody with the same name in the area. GP offices have all of a person's health records, including information on recent checks, blood results, cholesterol levels and more. Everything we do is electronically based. I do not know why this matter is so complicated. When a person goes to hospital, the hospital staff should be able to use a simple number to identify him or her. The personal public service number, PPSN, cannot be used because it concerns social protection. We do not have a national identity card. As I understood from the Minister's speech in 2014, information will be required to allow a unique identification number to be provided. I do not see what the great mystery is. We all bank online, use all sorts of codes and avail of security measures. At the very least, when one goes to an emergency department the staff should be able to access one's GP records and vice versa. I am from Galway. If I have an accident in Dublin, health services there should be able to access my information which is held in Galway. I do not know why this kind of linkage cannot be done.

Do other members know their unique identification number? Is it something that is sent out? I do not know my unique number but I know my PPSN, my date of birth and my address. I do not know if my GP or local ED has my unique number. A representative of the first HSE group said that there are 9 million records in a certain part of the HSE and another area has 4 million identifications. Do the officials know how we have gone from the 2014 Act to where we are today?