How confidential is an 'Employment Assistance Programme' EAP - VHI

Not sure if anyone has this -
https://www.vhi.ie/jsp/employers/employeeassistanceprogramme.jsp

When one calls, asked name of employer- ok- as they need to ensure company is covered... then before progress to assist they need name/ surname/ address and refuse to progress until all is given, despite service being completely confidential- they claim!

They stated that they need details- in case call got cut off, they wanted to send staff member surveys or follow-up...

any advice on how the service works?

I have an EAP programme in work and have used it recently.

As far as I am aware all EAP's are actually run by a 3rd party (ie. not VHI, or your company) Although they do ask for details, they confirm that it is only for their records and to allow contact and dealing with your issue.
If i remember correctly, they also state that no information will be provided to employer or anybody else, other than on a generalised statistical level - x people used for housing, y for legal advice, z for mental health etc.

I don't know (and am not asking) what your personal situation is, but I believe these programs deal with a lot of personal and sensitive information on a daily basis, and cannot imagine they would last long if confidentiality was not respected where promised.

I would suggest tracking down the literature provided by VHI on the service and read through it fully. I suppose only use the service if you are convinced it is confidential enough for your needs. Personally I found the service extremely useful and would recommend it to anybody considering it.

I think if the employer 'refers' someone to it, and the employee is agreeable (i.e. formally gives consent), then the employer can be told if the employee actually engaged with the service or not. No details of what talked about etc. etc.

So I think the lines of confidentiality are very strong.