Recent studies show that a a significant 47.2% of the population described their health as ‘very good' while 35.7% categorized theirs as ‘good'; clear indication that majority of the Irish population is benefiting from a great health care system.
The Public Health Care System
Ireland's current health care system is governed by the Health Act of 2004, a newly-established set of laws to ensure that all residents of Ireland get good, easily accessible health care services.
After the enactment of this law, in 2005, Ireland had about 3,996 USD spent per individual for health care. The government's share out of this amounted to about 79% of the expenses.
EU and EEA citizens are automatically eligible for public health care. For foreign nationals, the Irish government introduced the concept of ‘ordinary residence'. This basically means that to be eligible for health care coverage through the public health care system, non-EU nationals must prove that they intent to remain in Ireland for at least a year. One would be required to submit documents like a work permit, registration with a school or college, or details of an Irish bank account.
This, however, does not automatically qualify your dependents for public health care coverage, as they would also need to provide documentation to prove ‘ordinary residency'.
Services covered by the public health care system are quite extensive, including free maintenance and treatment in public and voluntary hospitals (which are under the Health Service Executive department), as well as outpatient services.
Maternity services as well as medical services for children under the age of six months are also provided by the government for free.
However, for patients who are above the median income, you may have to pay a minimal fee to avail of some medical services in Ireland. Examples of which are hospital charges for those treated as inpatients, which is a flat fee of 100 Euro per day.
Laboratory tests and diagnostic assessments however, remained covered by the public health care system.
Hospitals in Ireland
Most major towns in Ireland have their own general hospital which covers an extensive array of medical services, including accident and emergency treatments. Smaller hospitals or district hospitals can also be found in smaller towns, but only offer limited services.
There are also specialized hospitals, found mostly in bigger cities like Dublin. These hospitals offer the best medical services in their field of specialization like orthopedics, pediatrics, or psychiatry.
There are, of course, private hospitals as well, which also offer the most modern facilities, whose services are generally covered by private or international health insurance. However, if you prefer getting treatment from a private hospital, then you'd have to be prepared for higher charges.
In Ireland, good health care is not only seen by the quality of medical services offered, or the facilities in hospitals. More so, it is manifested in the public health care system that manages to offer the health care essentials to its people - free of charge.
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