HSE emails affected as global Microsoft outage hits Ireland

HSE says services not impacted so far amid outage that has also affected Microsoft Teams and Copilot

A global Microsoft outage has left Outlook users unable to send or receive emails. Photograph: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
A global Microsoft outage has left Outlook users unable to send or receive emails. Photograph: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

The Health Service Executive (HSE) said it has been impacted by the global Microsoft outage with emails not being transmitted.

There have also been “intermittent problems” with Microsoft videoconferencing facilities.

Services have not been impacted so far, however, and a spokesperson said the HSE will engage with services and patients if impacts occur.

Cork City Council said a number of its services, including email, have been affected.

A spokesperson said: “Our ICT team is working to introduce temporary solutions and is awaiting updates from Microsoft. In the meantime we apologise for the disruption and for any delays. Updates will be provided later.”

Microsoft is racing to restore its services after the worldwide outage disrupted businesses and government agencies, leaving users unable to access workplace software in one of the company’s most significant technology failures in years.

The disruption, which began on Thursday and continued into Friday, left users unable to send or receive emails through Outlook. It also affected Microsoft Teams, its Copilot AI assistant and other Microsoft 365 services.

Microsoft said it had tried several solutions to mitigate the problems, including isolating parts of its infrastructure and shifting traffic to alternate routes.

“We’ve monitored the status of the changes applied to improve serviceability and confirmed that change is not taking as expected,” the company said.

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James Cox

James Cox

James Cox is a news reporter for The Irish Times