This thesis examines to what extent Irish public sector recordkeeping legislation and practice are aligned with contemporary scholarship regarding the role of recordkeeping in relation to accountability, human rights and social justice. The following sub-questions are examined: What are the principal features of current Irish public sector recordkeeping legislation and practice, and what shortcomings can be identified with regard to accountability, human rights and social justice? What is the current state of recordkeeping scholarship about the issues of accountability, human rights and social justice? How do stakeholders think about and experience issues of accountability, human rights and social justice in an Irish recordkeeping context? What models can be used to provide a basis for fulfilling recordkeeping’s role with regard to accountability, human rights and social justice, and what does a normative analysis based on these models say about the state of Irish recordkeeping legislation and practice? What recommendations should be made to ensure that Irish legislation and practice can bridge the gap between the current situation and contemporary recordkeeping scholarship relating to accountability, human rights and social justice? A multi-pronged approach is taken to addressing these questions, beginning with an examination of the current nature of recordkeeping legislation and practice in Ireland. A literature review assesses contemporary recordkeeping scholarship relating to accountability, human rights and social justice. This is followed by an analysis of a set of interviews with recordkeeping stakeholders about how they perceive and experience these issues in an Irish context. Subsequent chapters provide normative analyses of accountability, human rights and social justice and identify models against which Irish recordkeeping legislation and practice can be measured. Finally, a set of actionable recommendations is presented. Proposed legislative changes relate to the core value of records, the concept of public ownership of public records, and the importance of access, while also addressing reporting structures and relationships designed to improve accountability. Recommendations also relate to improvements to recordkeeping culture and practice, which are seen as an essential complement to proposed legislative changes in successfully addressing issues of accountability, human rights and social justice.