Galway East TD Ciaran Cannon has questioned why the HSE's record systems are seemingly decades behind other European countries.
Speaking at the Public Accounts Committee, he said our hospitals do offer world class healthcare and expertise - once a person is in the system.
But he said the record systems are a mess, and often in the same hospital different departments have no access to each others records.
He referenced the resignation of the former HSE Head of Digital Transformation who left in frustration after just a year in the role - saying he thought "he had died and gone to hell".
Speaking in reply, HSE CEO Bernard Gloster said improvements are being made but a full electronic record system is quite a few years away.
But he acknowledged that the HSE's record system is not where it should be.
