Ireland's healthcare bill depends on the route you use, whether you hold a medical card or GP visit card, and whether the problem belongs in pharmacy, GP, online doctor, out-of-hours, injury unit or Emergency Department care. Here's the plain breakdown.
| Route | Typical cost (no card) | With medical / GP visit card |
|---|---|---|
| Private GP visit | ~€60–€90 | Free |
| Online doctor | ~€21.50–€55 | Not covered by card |
| Pharmacy First / Common Conditions Service | Pharmacist charges for the service; medicine may be extra | Medical card does not remove the service charge |
| Out-of-hours GP co-op | Fee (often €50–€70+) | Free |
| Injury unit | Statutory public charge may apply | Free / waived |
| A&E without GP referral | Statutory Emergency Department charge applies | Free / waived |
Indicative for 2026. GP and out-of-hours fees are set by each practice; statutory hospital charges are set nationally and change in budgets. Confirm before you're treated.
For one of the eight conditions in the Common Conditions Service — hay fever, cold sores, conjunctivitis, thrush, shingles, a UTI and so on — the pharmacy is usually the cheapest and fastest. For a routine consult or a repeat prescription, an online doctor typically undercuts a private in-person GP. For anything needing examination or ongoing care, the GP is the right spend — and free if you hold a card.
The medicine is a separate cost from the consultation. If you don't hold a medical card, the Drug Payment Scheme caps what any individual or family pays for approved prescribed medicines in a calendar month; the HSE currently lists the monthly cap as €80. Medical card holders can get approved prescription medicines free of charge, but pay a small per-item prescription charge that is capped monthly: currently €1.50 per item up to €15 a month for under-70s, and €1 per item up to €10 a month for over-70s.
If you qualify for a medical card, GP visits, out-of-hours care, approved prescriptions (bar the small charge), and public hospital care are largely free. A GP visit card covers free GP and out-of-hours visits but not medicines or hospital charges. Many households that don't qualify for a medical card do qualify for a GP visit card, and children under 8 and adults over 70 have automatic entitlements. Full detail and the income limits are on our medical card & GP visit card guide.
The headline price is not always the final price. Ask whether an online-doctor fee includes the prescription request, whether a certificate costs extra, whether a pharmacy consultation has a service charge as well as medicine cost, and whether an out-of-hours GP visit is covered by your card. For hospital routes, a GP referral can change whether an Emergency Department or injury-unit charge applies, so it is worth checking the current HSE or Citizens Information position before assuming the charge.
Health insurance in Ireland is mostly about hospital and consultant costs, not everyday GP visits — though some plans now bundle a digital-GP benefit and refund part of routine GP/everyday medical expenses. Whether it pays off depends on your situation; we walk through it on the private health insurance guide.
Medical card & GP visit card — who qualifies and the 2026 limits →
How to see a doctor in Ireland — all your options, plainly →