Recording calls and meetings in Ireland: the law explained

On recording calls in Ireland, the law follows a consent model close to one-party consent. The interception offence in the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act 1983 was amended in 1993 so that listening to or recording a message is not "interception" where either the person on whose behalf it is sent or the person it is addressed to has consented. A party to a call can give that consent, so a participant may generally record it.

That does not end the question. A recording of a work call is personal data, and the GDPR — supervised in Ireland by the Data Protection Commission (DPC) — asks for a lawful basis, a notice, a retention period and answers to people's requests. This guide covers both layers and ends with a routine. Across the border, see recording calls under UK law; for the wider picture, is it legal to record a meeting?

Recording calls in Ireland: the law at a glance

Layer 1: the interception offence

Section 98 of the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act 1983 makes it an offence to intercept telecommunications messages, to disclose the existence or substance of an intercepted message, or to use information obtained from one.

As first enacted, the section's definition of interception required the agreement of both sender and recipient to take a recording outside it. Section 13 of the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act 1993 replaced that definition. "Intercept" now means to "listen to, or record by any means, in the course of its transmission, a telecommunications message but does not include such listening or recording where either the person on whose behalf the message is transmitted or the person intended to receive the message has consented to the listening or recording".

Read plainly, the person making a call and the person receiving it can each consent, so either may record it. That is the basis on which Ireland is commonly described as a one-party consent country.

Two caveats

• The wording is old. The 1983 section was written for messages "transmitted by the company", the state telecoms operator of the time. We could not confirm from a consolidated text how the provision is now read across all operators and internet calls. It has been amended several times, most recently in 2024 on an unrelated point.
• It covers telecommunications. Recording a conversation in a room is not a telecommunications message; that case is governed mainly by data protection and general privacy law rather than this offence.

Business recording

The ePrivacy Regulations 2011 (S.I. 336/2011), regulation 5, prohibit interception or surveillance of communications "by persons other than users, without the consent of the users concerned", while preserving "legally authorised recording … in the course of lawful business practice for the purpose of providing evidence of a commercial transaction". That is the provision call centres rely on; it is not the one that governs a participant's own notes.

Layer 2: the GDPR and the Data Protection Commission

A recording of a work meeting, its transcript and any notes made from it are personal data about everyone in the meeting. The GDPR applies, with the Data Protection Act 2018, and the DPC supervises it. Recording meetings under GDPR goes through the steps.

In short:

• A lawful basis. Legitimate interests is common for business meetings; consent fits where people can genuinely say no.
• A notice at the time — who is recording, why, who receives it, how long it is kept.
• A retention period, decided in advance and applied. How long to keep meeting recordings has a starting schedule.
• A contract with each processor that touches the recording or its transcript.

The GDPR does not apply to "purely personal or household activity". A call with a relative recorded for yourself is outside it; a client call is not.

What the DPC says

We did not find a dedicated DPC page on recording calls or meetings; its published recording guidance is about video. Its guidance on the right of access applies to recordings like any other personal data. It says "in most cases individuals cannot be required to pay a fee" for an access request, that a fee is allowed only for requests that are "manifestly unfounded or excessive", which the controller must prove, and that where other people's rights are involved a "balancing of rights exercise" is needed. Its access request FAQ adds that requests "must be responded to free of charge and in an accessible form".

For a meeting recording, that means anyone recorded may ask for a copy of what you hold about them, and you will need to weigh the other speakers' rights when you answer. Subject access requests for meeting recordings covers how.

Section 60 of the Data Protection Act 2018 allows those rights to be restricted in some circumstances, including where necessary in contemplation of or for legal claims. That is a narrow exception, not a general reason to refuse.

Calls with people outside Ireland

A call with people in Germany, France or California may bring in rules that require everyone's agreement. See recording calls in Germany and recording calls in California. On a mixed call, follow the strictest rule that could apply.

A routine for calls with people in Ireland

1. Check your employer's or client's policy on recording.
2. Say in the invitation that you would like to record, and why.
3. Start the recorder and ask at the start of the call; stop if anyone objects.
4. Keep the audio only as long as you need it, and share checked notes rather than the recording.
5. Be ready to find and copy, or delete, a person's part of the recording if they ask.

How Notey fits into this

Notey records your microphone and the sound your Mac plays, on your own Mac. Nothing joins the call.

• Nothing is saved until you press Allow when Notey notices a call, unless you chose a rule in advance, such as arming the next call.
• The audio stays on your Mac and is transcribed there. No transcription service receives it, which keeps the processor list short.
• AI notes send transcript text only, when you ask or when write-ups are on, to Notey's service and on to OpenAI as a processor. The privacy policy has the detail.
• Finding and deleting a meeting is how you answer access and erasure requests: ⌘K searches every meeting by what was said, and deleting removes the recording, transcript and notes.
• The red dot and elapsed timer are visible to you, not to the call.

Frequently asked questions

Is Ireland a one-party consent country for recording calls?

Broadly, yes. Since the 1993 amendment, recording a telecommunications message is not "interception" where either the person on whose behalf it is sent or the intended recipient has consented. A party to the call can give that consent.

Do I need to tell people I am recording a work call in Ireland?

The interception offence does not require it if you are a party, but the GDPR generally does for a work recording. People must be told who is recording, why, and how long it is kept.

Does the Data Protection Commission have guidance on call recording?

We did not find a dedicated DPC page on recording calls or meetings. Its guidance on the right of access and the GDPR's principles apply to recordings like any other personal data.

Can someone ask for a copy of a call recording in Ireland?

Yes, under the right of access in Article 15 of the GDPR. The DPC says requests must generally be answered free of charge within one month.

Does the GDPR apply to recording a personal call?

Not to purely personal or household activity. A recording made for work, even by a sole trader, generally is not that.