The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has published its overview report on the regulation of medical exposure to ionising radiation. The Overview Report on the Regulation of Medical Exposure to Ionising Radiation in 2025 shows continued improvement in compliance with the regulations to protect people from the potential risks associated with medical radiological procedures.

This report provides details of the inspections carried out in 2025. Among the services inspected, 74.8% of the regulations assessed were found to be fully compliant, 22.1% were substantially compliant and 3.1% were non-compliant. The level of non-compliance identified decreased from 5% in 2024, highlighting the importance of ongoing monitoring and engagement with facilities to promote compliance and protect people undergoing medical radiological procedures. 11 of these facilities had been inspected previously, allowing HIQA to monitor ongoing compliance and follow up on previous findings and compliance plans.

In addition to inspections, HIQA received 144 notifications of accidental or unintended exposures that met the thresholds for reporting in 2025. Of these, 127 related to incidents in diagnostic imaging and 17 were radiotherapy related. 

Since commencing regulation of medical exposure to ionising radiation (MEIR) in 2019, HIQA recorded a small decrease in the number of incident notifications received for the first time. The number of individual services reporting incidents also decreased from 59 in 2024 to 52 in 2025.  While this may be an encouraging trend, this will continue to be monitored and it is essential that all facilities continue to strengthen a culture of learning and continuous improvement. Supporting facilities to embed this learning remains a key area of focus for HIQA. The majority of reportable incidents (88.2%) were notified to HIQA within the required three-day timeframe, while 11.8% were reported outside this timeframe. Computed tomography (CT) accounted for 67% of reported incidents. Human error was identified by undertakings as the main cause in 74.3% of incidents, which is consistent with trends identified in previous years.

In addition to regulating services in 2025, HIQA has also further enabled improved outcomes for service users by: 

• publishing new national guidelines on the use of medical radiological procedures for the early detection of disease in people without signs or symptoms
• initiating a project which included stakeholder engagement involving surveys, study days, focus groups to improve significant event notification and reporting 
• finalised preparations for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) Mission to Ireland where expert teams assessed Ireland’s laws, regulations and practices related to radiation safety.

HIQA’s Head of Healthcare, John Tuffy said:
“We are delighted to publish HIQA’s first standalone overview report on the regulation of medical exposure to ionising radiation. Since becoming the competent authority for medical exposures to ionising radiation in 2019, HIQA has continued to observe improvements in compliance, demonstrating the value of sustained regulatory oversight. 
This report reflects our commitment to working with services to drive improvement and ensure that people undergoing medical radiological procedures are protected from unnecessary exposure to ionising radiation.”

HIQA’s Regional Manager for Ionising Radiation, Agnella Craig said:
“Through our regulatory work, we have supported services to promote a positive culture of incident reporting and learning, helping to make medical exposures safer for patients. 
We will continue to build on this work, through the development of practical resources and engagement with providers and international colleagues, supporting greater awareness and learning across services, and ultimately, promoting safer better care for people undergoing medical radiological procedures.”

ENDS

Further information:

Caoimhe O’Connell, Communications Manager, 087 639 5916, caoconnell@hiqa.ie. 

Notes for Editor: 

• HIQA is the independent body in Ireland responsible for monitoring and enforcing the regulations governing medical exposure to ionising radiation. This regulatory work plays an important role in ensuring safe radiological services are provided to people in Ireland.
• Since becoming the competent authority for medical exposure to ionising radiation (MEIR) in 2019, the information in this report had previously been captured annually in HIQA’s healthcare overview report and MEIR reports to share learnings from significant events reported to HIQA and is now published as a standalone report.
• HIQA’s functions include inspecting facilities, carrying out desktop monitoring, developing guidance, reviewing notifications of accidental and unintended exposures, and sharing learning from these incidents. 

About HIQA

The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) is the independent body that promotes safety and quality in the provision of health and social care services in Ireland. 

Through its regulation, standard setting and evidence to inform decision-making functions, HIQA supports health and social care services to consistently deliver excellent standards of care and the best possible health and social care outcomes for all.