The HSE has apologised to patients affected by data breaches at St Conal’s Hospital in Letterkenny and St Loman’s in Mullingar.
The two disused psychiatric hospitals were being used to store paper medical records and were found to be contaminated with damp, mould and animal droppings.
The HSE says it will comply with the recommendations of a Data Protection Commission statutory inquiry.
The inquiry followed an incident in Letterkenny, where two individuals gained access to the site and shared video footage of the conditions on social media.
As well as the €364,000 fine, the HSE has been ordered to make a number of changes to how it stores and manages medical records.
These include introducing a comprehensive national records management programme and updating policies on the storage and retention of documents.
The HSE must also review inactive records, safely destroy those no longer required and move records from storage facilities that are not fit for purpose.
It has also been told to work with the National Archives to identify and transfer historical records of archival value.
At St Conal’s in Letterkenny, the building that was accessed has now been fully cleared, while the safe destruction of over-retained records at other storage locations is ongoing.
