The HSE Compliance Obligations Register (COR) is a list of statutory, regulatory, and policy obligations that HSE employees must comply with to ensure that HSE services meet high standards for quality and value to the public.
Failure to comply with these obligations undermines public and stakeholder trust in the HSE.
The current COR has about 450 external obligations and over 800 internal obligations (policies, procedures, protocols, and guidelines). The COR will be updated quarterly so that the HSE is aware of any new or changing compliance requirements.
The COR is a valuable resource for HSE employees, particularly those involved in compliance, risk management, audit, and governance.
Why implement a COR?
We must keep a record of compliance obligations to meet regulatory requirements.
A compliance obligations register improves:
- risk management - by addressing legal and regulatory risks
- compliance - by identifying which laws and regulations apply to the organisation
- efficiency - by reducing the time and resources needed to track, document, and report on compliance-related tasks, allowing resources to be directed to the right activities
- accountability - by effectively managing and tracking obligations to ensure compliance, and owners of principal obligations are identified
- collaboration between teams and departments - by interactions associated with the register
Compliance Obligations Register Q2 2025
The register contains an overview of HSE obligations (internal and external).
HSE Compliance Obligations Register Q2 2025 (PDF, 458 KB, 21 pages)
External obligations (pages 2-7)
External obligations include laws, regulations, public policy and directives. Approximately 450 external obligations are currently listed.
Internal obligations (pages 8-21)
Internal obligations include policies, protocols, procedures, guidelines, and HR circulars designated as PPPGs. There are currently over 800 items on the internal register.
To provide faster access to published documents and subject matter experts, the COR now directs staff to 4 live HSE home pages:
- HR circulars
- National Central Repository
- IT policies and procedures
- National Financial Regulations
These obligations are listed in chronological order based on when they were enacted. Many of these PPPGs exist to ensure that the organisation meets its external obligations.
Latest updates to the COR
External obligation additions in Q2 2025
- Health Insurance (Amendment) and Health (Provision of Menopause Products) Act 2024
- SI 98/2025 - Health Act 2007 (Care and Welfare of Residents in Designated Centres for Older People) (Amendment) Regulations 2025
- SI 162/2025 - Physiotherapists Registration Board Approved Qualifications Bye-Law 2025
- SI 178/2025 - European Union (Recognition of Professional Qualifications) (Amendment) Regulations 2025
- SI 196/2025 - European Union (Restrictive Measures against Cyber-attacks threatening the Union or its Member States) (No.2) Regulations 2025
- SI 212/2025 - Employment Equality Act 1998 (Section 20A) (Gender Pay Gap Information) (Amendment) Regulations 2025
- SI 223/2025 - Election of Members for Appointment to the Social Care Workers Registration Board Bye-law 2025
- SI 226/2025 - Health Act 1970 (Section 59(4)) (Menopause Products) Regulations 2025
- SI 227/2025 - Health Act 1970 (Section 67F) (Payments in Respect of Menopause Products Dispensing Services) Regulations 2025
- SI 229/2025 - Misuse of Drugs (Prescription and Control of Supply of Cannabis for Medical Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2025
- SI 233/2025 - Protected Disclosures Act 2014 (Disclosure to Prescribed Persons) (Amendment) Order 2025
SI 245/2025 - European Union (Basic Safety Standards for Protection Against Dangers Arising from Medical Exposure to Ionising Radiation) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 - SI 261/2025 - European Communities (Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment) (Amendment) Regulations 2025
- SI 270/2025 - Data Protection Act 2018 (Section 159(2))(Amendment) Rules 2025
- SI 286/2025 - Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 (Section 42) (Payments to General Practitioners) (Amendment) Regulations 2025
- Directive 2019/1161/EU amending Directive 2009/33/EC on the promotion of clean and energy-efficient road transport vehicles
Internal obligation additions in Q2 2025
- HR Circular 006 2025 Commencement of CORU Registration for Social Care Workers/Leaders/Managers
- HR Circular 007 2025 Sponsorship for Public HSE Employees wishing to train as Nurses/Midwives, HR Circular 40 2020 (Academic Intake 2025 Only)
- HR Circular 008 2025 Extension of the Expert Review Body Recommendation 45 to Nursing/Midwifery Clinical Placement Co-ordinator grade
- HR Circular 009 2025 HSE Principles for Extended Working Day Week Framework to enable provision of Services to Patients on 5/7 basis
- Redeployment Of Staff In The Event Of A National Pandemic Or Other Major Emergency
- HSE National Wound Management Guidelines
- Guideline for the Care and Management of a Central Venous Access Device for a Child in the Community
- HSE Primary Care Reimbursement Service (PCRS) Diabetes Consumables Guidelines for Manufacturers/Distributors/Suppliers
- Treatment of Patients with Breast Cancer: Radiation Oncology National Clinical Guideline
- HSE National Clinical Guideline for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Breast Implant Associated – Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL)
- HSE National Clinical Guideline -Active surveillance for patients with prostate cancer
- HSE National Clinical Guideline for the Care of the Child Newly Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes without DKA
- HSE National Clinical Guideline -The Use of Focal Therapy in Patients with Prostate Cancer
- HSE National Guideline for the preparation for transport of UN 3291 Clinical Waste Unspecified, N.O.S.
- HSE National Policy for Individual Health Identifier (IHI) Data Standards
- HSE National Procedure for Conducting Equality Impact Assessments (EQIAs)
- HSE National Procedure for the Management of the Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) Enquiry Service
- HSE Business Continuity Management Policy
Internal obligations withdrawn in Q2 2025
- HBS Illness Benefit Occupational Injury Benefit Notification For Employees
- Guideline on the use of the Child and Family Health Needs Assessment Framework for the Public Health Nursing Service (duplicate)
- Procedure for Managing the Safe Transfer of Child Health Records in the Public Health Nursing Service (duplicate)
- HSE Right to Disconnect Policy (duplicate)
Internal obligations revised in Q2 2025
- Clinical Guidelines for Opioid Substitution Treatment. Guidance Document for OST in the Hospital Setting
- HSE National Guideline for Infection Prevention and Control in HSE Dental and Orthodontic Services
- National Clinical Guideline Managing Children With Type 1 Diabetes Who Use Continuous Glucose Monitoring
- Guidance on Managing the Manual Handling Issues of Service Users with Bariatric Needs
- HSE National Manual and People Handling Policy
- National Clinical Guideline for the Diagnosis, Staging and Treatment of Prostate Cancer
- National Nurse Authority to Refer for Radiological Procedures Guideline
- Open Disclosure: National Policy
- HSE Cellular Mobile Device Policy
- Quality and Safety Committee: Guidance and Resources
- Third Party Network Access Agreement
- Standard Terms for Services and Supplies
Adding an obligation to the COR
The COR aims to provide a comprehensive list of HSE obligations. We cannot guarantee that all obligations have been included due to the large number of obligations that apply to an organisation of this size.
If you have an obligation to include in the COR or identify an obligation for removal, email central.compliancefunction@hse.ie