Seeing a doctor in Dublin: GP fees, the HSE and what the Australian agreement covers

Forget bulk billing. In Dublin most adults pay every time they see a GP, but public hospital care is cheap once you live here, and a few cards and schemes cap the damage.

The short version

• Most adults pay their GP directly. Fees vary by practice, with RTÉ putting a typical visit at roughly €50 to €90 in 2025, and Dublin at the higher end [3].
• Turn up at a public emergency department without a GP letter and you'll pay €100. Public inpatient charges were abolished in April 2023 [4].
• Once you're "ordinarily resident" (living here, or planning to for at least a year), you can apply for the Drugs Payment Scheme, which caps prescriptions at €80 a month per family [1][5].
• The Australia–Ireland Reciprocal Health Care Agreement is for visitors. It covers public hospital care but not GP visits [6].
• Keep your receipts. Many medical costs earn 20% tax relief from Revenue [10].

How the Irish system works

Ireland has a public system run by the Health Service Executive (HSE) and a big private sector beside it. The two overlap more than Australians expect.

GPs are mostly private businesses. Unless you hold a medical card or GP visit card, you pay the practice yourself, with no Medicare rebate coming back [2]. Public hospitals are run by the HSE or voluntary hospitals funded by it, and everyone who is ordinarily resident can use them as a public patient [1].

"Ordinarily resident" is the key phrase. You qualify if you've been living in Ireland for at least a year or intend to live here for at least a year. The HSE may ask for proof such as a utility bill or bank statement [1]. Most Australians who move to Dublin on a work permit, a Working Holiday Authorisation or an Irish passport meet that test early.

Australia vs Ireland at a glance

What you'll actually pay

GP visits

There's no national fee schedule for private patients. RTÉ reported in March 2025 that the Irish Medical Organisation doesn't keep national fee records, and estimated visits at roughly €50 to €90 depending on where you live. Its reporter's own Dublin practice charged €70 [3]. CSO figures quoted in the same piece show doctor fees rose about 14% between February 2020 and February 2025 [3].

Ring around before you register. Ask what a standard consultation costs, what a phone consult or repeat script costs, and whether they're taking new patients. Some Dublin practices have closed their lists, so register with a GP the month you move, not the day you get sick.

Emergency departments and injury units

Injury units handle broken bones, sprains, cuts and minor burns, and the queues are usually far shorter than at Dublin's big emergency departments. The HSE website lists the units and their opening hours. For anything life-threatening, call 112 or 999.

Out of hours, GP co-operatives run evening and weekend clinics around Dublin. Your own GP's voicemail usually gives the number.

Cards and schemes that cut the bill

Medical card

A medical card gives free GP visits, public hospital services and prescribed drugs, with a small charge per item [1]. It's means-tested on income, and most working Australians in Dublin earn too much to qualify. If your income drops, check the eligibility calculator on the HSE's medical card site.

GP visit card

A GP visit card covers GP visits only [2]. Two groups qualify without a means test that new Australian families should know about [2]:

• Children under 8, which can save a fortune with toddlers
• People aged 70 and over

Under-70s can also qualify on income. The weekly limits in force since November 2023 include €418 for a single person living alone and €607 for a couple, after tax, PRSI and USC, with allowances for rent, childcare and travel to work that can lift the limit [2].

Drugs Payment Scheme

The Drugs Payment Scheme (DPS) caps what you and your family pay for approved prescription medicines at €80 a month [5]. Anyone living in Ireland who intends to stay for at least a year can apply, and there's no means test [5]. Your family can include a partner, children under 18, and children up to 23 in full-time education [5].

It's the closest thing to the PBS safety net, and it's the scheme most likely to matter if you take regular medication.

How to get set up

1. Get your PPS number. Almost every HSE scheme asks for it [5].
2. Register with a GP close to home or work. Ask about fees and new-patient lists.
3. Apply for the DPS card online through the HSE. Have PPS numbers and a recent utility bill ready [5].
4. Apply for a GP visit card if you have a child under 8 [2].
5. Bring your Australian records. Ask your Australian GP for a summary and scripts before you leave, and expect to need an Irish GP to write new scripts. Don't assume a Dublin pharmacy will fill an Australian one.
6. Track your receipts for health expenses relief and claim through Revenue myAccount [10].

The Australia–Ireland health agreement

Australia and Ireland have a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement. Ireland's Department of Health announced it in 1998, describing emergency public hospital treatment for Australian visitors at the same charges paid by Irish residents without a medical card, plus help with prescription costs [7].

Services Australia's current page for Australians visiting Ireland says the agreement covers [6]:

• care as a public patient in a public hospital
• maternity care
• part of prescription medicine costs, once you spend over a monthly amount

The care must be medically necessary, unable to wait until you get home, and within 12 months of arrival. You still pay a fee for each service [6]. To use it, show your passport and a valid Medicare card [6].

It does not cover [6]:

• GP visits
• private patient care, even in a public hospital
• treatment you arranged before arriving

Smartraveller adds that agreements don't pay for medical evacuation or non-urgent care, and some have conditions for people living or working in the country [8].

So does it matter once you live here?

Not much. Once you're ordinarily resident, you use the Irish system as a resident [1]. The agreement is most useful for the first days of a move, for parents flying in to visit, and for short trips. It never covered GP fees, which is the cost that surprises most Australians.

Going the other way, Services Australia's page for visitors from Ireland covers public hospital care in Australia for people who were living in Ireland before arriving, and asks for an Irish passport or an Irish-issued European Health Insurance Card [9]. If you're an Australian citizen, your Medicare status depends on how long you've been away, so check before a trip home. Our Medicare guide explains the rules.

Got a GP you'd recommend, or one taking new patients? Share it in Cooee Ireland, our Facebook group for Australians in Ireland.

Common mistakes

• Going straight to A&E with a sprained ankle. An injury unit is cheaper and faster [4].
• Waiting to register with a GP. Some Dublin lists are full.
• Not applying for the DPS. It costs nothing and caps the bill at €80 a month [5].
• Treating the reciprocal agreement as health insurance. It's for urgent public care, not GPs [6].
• Throwing away receipts. You can claim relief for the last four years [10].

Sources

1. Entitlement to public health services – Citizens Information
2. GP visit cards – Citizens Information
3. Rising costs: Trips to GP and dentist more expensive – RTÉ News, March 2025
4. Charges for hospital services – Citizens Information
5. Drugs Payment Scheme card – HSE
6. Visiting the Republic of Ireland – Services Australia
7. Reciprocal agreement on medical treatment for temporary visitors between Ireland and Australia – Department of Health (gov.ie)
8. Using a reciprocal health care agreement – Smartraveller
9. Visiting from Ireland – Services Australia
10. Health expenses – Revenue

Keep reading

• Private health insurance in Ireland: the late-entry loading trap
• Getting a PPS number in Dublin: proof of address and MyGovID
• Medicare when you live abroad
• Moving to Dublin from Australia: the complete guide