Implementation of directive 95/46/ec in relation to medical research in the republic of Ireland

In Ireland, medical decision-making privacy, or privacy of choice, is protected on the basis of autonomy, in the same way as the foundation of the doctrine of informed consent. There are a number of bases on which the duty of medical confidentiality may be imposed on practitioners in Ireland. The Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2003 seeks to implement the Directive. Under Irish law it does not appear to matter who identifies the individual in order for the data to qualify as personal data. The definition of personal data specifically refers to data relating to a living individual. Article 8 introduces additional protection for the processing of special categories of data including health data subject to certain exceptions. There is no formal national identification number system in place in Ireland. However, the Revenue and Social Insurance (RSI) number has been used for many years as a common identification number for taxation and social welfare purposes.