The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner said it is surprised that people still carry around laptops with sensitive information, which is not encrypted.
The Office said it was informed by the Health Service Executive on Thursday about the theft of a laptop, a BlackBerry and a data disk from the home of a staff member the previous day.
The laptop and disk contained personal information gathered for a survey on the provision of the influenza vaccine to 1,150 healthcare workers in Autumn 2007.
The laptop was password protected but was not encrypted.
The forms saved on the laptop contain information similar to that requested from recipients of other vaccines: name, address, date of birth, telephone number, GP's name and data relating to occupation.
Deputy Data Protection Commissioner Gary Davis said the Office wants to discuss the matter with HSE management.
The HSE said the incident was also reported to the gardaí.
