moving to republic of ireland

[lilyplant]

Can anyone tell me the answers to the following?

Can you claim income support there?

Can you get housing benefit, child benefit, child tax credit in the normal way?

What about concil tax?

What age is compulksory school age and how supportive are they of home education?

What is health cre like? Do you register with a GP in the usual way and have your NHS records transferred from the UK or do as you may have to pay do yo just not register and see a dr when you need ne without registering. Do you still have ot pay for childrens visits to the dr?

Thanks

[LadyMuck]

This site may help you on the benefits issues. Obviously the system isn't identical to the UK.

[lilyplant]

thanks, anyone else?

[jmacon]

You have to remember that the ROI is a totally different country to the UK with a totally different system. eg we do not have council tax, but we do pay for our waste collection. Child benefit is a lot more generous but there is huge inadequacy when it comes to support for working families. Also we have an absolutely rubbish government and are in the midst of a reccession. on average the cost of living is around 25% dearer here.
however there are a lot of good things here also!
if u want to post the specifics of your situation i maybe able to help u a bit more!

[lilyplant]

thanks it seems like theres no income support there? Are you expected to sign on and look for work once your baby is jst 8 weeks old?! So much for exclusive btreatsfeeding! It seems theres a lot to do there to get started. Are you not able to use your NI number to transfer records and start claiming? Instead you have to apply for a PPS number and use that and presumably that could take a while?

Could see refernce to some help with rent for private accomodation but not sure if you get full amount?

Single parent to four children below school age, guess its a pretty daft thing to consider, its obviously a big thing to do to leave UK, can't go into too much detail about circumstances online

[Carmenere]

Unless you are totally broke you have to pay to see the GP and it is about 50 euros a go, also prescriptions are not subsidised. Unless you are desperate and you have a lot of support waiting for you I wouldn't move there with four dc's. It is a VERY expensive country.

[Carmenere]

I don't mean to be patronising but as jmacon says it is an entirely different country. Of course your NI number won't transfer there, you will have to be assessed for everything over again, there is also very little social housing.

[pillowcase]

Ireland is not a good place to be poor, and pray you never need a hospital bed. Sorry, I'm Irish and left 5 years ago, there is a greater and great divide between the rich and the poor. Healthcare is 3rd world. About the only relatively good thing is education and you want to HE, so I'd say think very very carefully about what you're thinking of doing.

[hornswoggle]

When I moved from the UK (over 10 years ago now though) they transferred over my NI contributions, I used them for dental work I think

So unless its totally different now and I haven't heard of any big changes, there is some overlap in having stamps from the UK etc

I would think if you were on LPA, with 4 DCs you would get a medical card and rent allowance, they dont encourage Lone Parents not to work but Family Income Supplement is generous in getting back to work/working family friendly part time hours

I am a Lone Parent working part time in Ireland and my DB is a Lone Parent working part time in the UK and my income is higher than my DB's in the UK and we both agree I have a better way of life

I love it here, best thing I ever did to move back

[louii]

A single parent with four kids and not working, i would not consider moving to Ireland, you have to pay for everything, GP's 60 euro, for your children.

Cost of living is much more expensive than uk.

I lived in ROI for 5 years and moved back to Scotland as i could not afford to live there.

[zazen]

I live in the Republic of Ireland and I'm thinking of moving it's so expensive here.

If you possibly can I would stay put in the UK.

We have no NHS, no Tax credits, no council tax, but rates, water charges and waste disposal. You will have to shell out your euros - see even a different currency - to see a doctor or dentist.

I would go to Scotland or Wales if I wanted to get out of England - you'd still be in the UK and all your National insurance records would be applicable.

[carrotsandpeasifyouplease]

there are no rates or water charges (or if there are i'm massively in debt )
You do have to pay for Doctor but the upside is you (in my experience) do get seen on teh day you want to be seen.
Check out the medical card limits to see if they are applicable.
The pps number doesn't take long to come
but, i don't know why you would want to move to what is essentially a more expensive place when you want to claim support - if you were thinking of getting a job then you would probably earn more money on average.
Also if you are not working and you do have a husband who is working then he will get more tax credits.
i think the age is 5 for school but i really don't know much about it and there is a general concensus that the education is good but i can't personally comment on that.
People are being made redundant left right and centre and as stated, the country is in a recession.
Also, i find it actually a very different country / attitudes etc (not saying better or worse) so its not just like moving to another part of the UK.

[nicm]

i live in ni so can't commenmt on what it's like to live there but it is really expensive-that much i know. i spent a couple of weeks there in the summer and the only thing that is cheaper than the uk is diesel! shopping is really expensive-newry/sprucefield is always really busy with shoppers from the south. friends who live there would say education is expensive-you have to buy all the books for your kids, healthcare is expensive-you have to pay to visit the doctors/a&e etc. you don't have rates to pay but you have to pay each time you want uyour bin emptied. but it is a beautiful country just really expensive. you'd need to be pretty rich i'd say to live comfortably.

[lilyplant]

thanks everyone,

it seems your pps number is used for health as well as benefits rather than having an NHS number, does this men you start afresh with healthcare so your medical records aren't transferred, eevn if theres an ongoing medical condition where you could do with your new GP having your notes?

[stleger]

Try oasis.gov.ie for many queries. Also I assume you'd be entitled to a full medical card so a lot of healthcare would be covered.

[carrotsandpeasifyouplease]

i think if you were moving anywhere you could have your medical records transferred - the PPs number is like your NI number and is just used for id in the health care (but i'm no expert) i think the british embassy in ireland has a good website, i remember looking at it once to renew my passport.

[user1483887562]

lilyplant

Income support is 200 euro a week and yes you can claim
Yes to housing benefit and child benefit
No council tax but you pay for bin collection
Health care you pay for if you work, no transfer of medical records

[ania23]

It’s quiet old discussion but maybe someone will join tell what they think....
my partner lived in ie for 11 years now he moved to Uk and he really doesn’t like it here... we are thinking to move to ie after our baby is older, I’m expecting mum...
where life is better? Safer? Easier?... better for the families?... which areas are good to live in ie?
anyone got any expirience?... advice?
Thank you :)

[pollypebble]

HI Ania, I made the move to Ireland after 20 years in London. Two things on my side, I'm Irish grew up here, so lots of contacts and I'm a teacher, so movable job. Stick to the East coast anywhere between Dublin and Newry, Louth Meath and Dublin CO, possibly Kildare. Lifestyle is brilliant, people and work life balance is good. Very family based culture, babies and small children loved and welcome. On a day to day basis, no queues for basic stuff like post office, roads quick moving. Amazing nature, everywhere and you will never be far from the sea. Social welfare, child benefit etc very generous. Disadvantages, as Im form here not sure what it is like for non Irish BUT very friendly. Thats it. I recommend it.