Irish MNers- advice needed please!

[LadyBarlow]

My DDad ( English born but v Irish!) is thinking about retiring to ROI, he's had a hard couple of years following my DMums death & is now remarrying The lovely lady is Irish & owns own home, I'm not quite sure what would happen about my DDad perhaps investing money in her home.
My DDads main concerns are concerning health care & insurance- he's 78, in OKish health but does suffer from some kidney problems. What would he be able to access free - if anything? Are there different types of insurance? Could this be a deal breaker for him moving??
He's not keen to air his worries to his new partner yet as he doesn't want her to think he doesn't want to move.
DDad isn't loaded! However, he will be selling a home here & has small amount of savings. Advice greatly appreciated

At the moment i think anyone over 70 here gets a medical card but this is one of the things people always talk about being cut. I think there is also a rule about UK people getting free healthcare over a certain age too if NI stamps have been paid in full. So either way he would be entitled to free public healthcare. I don't know the rules on this but it may give you something to start looking into.

Some links that might help...
www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/1/schemes/mc/over70s/
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/health/entitlement_to_health_services/medical_card_means_test_over_70s.html
www.rmatui.ie/uk-pension-entitlement/

He can use his NHS card here initially- it'll cover GP visits and I think medication too. But if it's an official move then depending on his income he could be eligible for a medical card. They are apparently bringing in a blanket allowance for all over-70s to have one but it isn't in yet.

The medical card would allow free GP visits and medication (excepting a dispensing fee per item of €1.50 IIRC), in addition to some other free health services in the community. If no medical card then you pay for any GP visits (in the region of €50-60) and for your medication up to a monthly maximum (?€120 or so)

Whether or not you have a medical card, everyone is entitled to free care in hospital- both inpatient and outpatient. There is a government levy on hospital stays of €75 per night but I think there's a cap on that so it doesn't end up ridiculously expensive. If you attend A&E with a medical card there is no fee however if you don't have one it's €100. I think this is waived if you have a letter from your GP. You can be referred to outpatient clinics and for any scans via the public system, which is free but can have horrendous waiting times.

If you want to go privately you can do this via your health insurance (rough guide could be €1000 per annum for insurance- just a guess, depends on age and medical history- you can get a quote on aviva.ie or similar to get an idea), or you can pay as you go from your own funds- this is reasonable if you want to get a scan quickly (€250 for an MRI with it being done within a week or so in a private hospital) or to see a consultant (€150ish for a visit), but if you need an operation then it becomes too expensive for most people unless they have insurance to cover it.

So in summary he should be fine- worth checking it out though- perhaps speaking to someone at the Social Welfare Office local to his wife-to-be.

Not sure about the property side of things- maybe someone else could advise?

Where is he moving to? Congrats to him and his future missus

Thanks Mrs cranky I'll have a good look at those sites later.
Would it be advisable to 'top up' the free public healthcare with an insurance policy? He's worrying about any kidney problems getting worse & having to wait ages to see a consultant.
Also, everyone pays for prescriptions don't they? Is it a subsidised set amount per item like in UK or is it full cost?

That's really clear coveredinwit, thanks so much!
I'll tell him to visit the Social Welfare office- he's there this week starting to sort things out so hopefully theyll be able to advise him.

Anything else he needs to think about?
He's very familiar with Ireland, think he's been there every year since he was a baby!

If he registers with a GP once he moves and brings his notes from his GP in the UK they can refer him to a kidney clinic if he's at the stage he might warrant a review. But if it's still mild then no rush. The renal clinics tend not to be too overloaded so I wouldn't think he'd be waiting horrendously long. Plus there are often rapid access clinics or Medical Assessment Units for people to be assessed relatively urgently if any sudden issues. As a very general rule living in Ireland, you have nothing to fear if you become really ill- you'll be taken care of, and quickly, and without having to pay (you may have to hang about in A&E for some time however!). It's the non-urgent stuff that tends to cause trouble in terms of waiting lists.

I supposed it might be helpful to look at opening some sort of bank account here for day to day stuff but I think the move from the UK is fairly smooth for most people. Can't think of anything else off the top of my head!

That's really reassuring- thank you.
Bank account is sorted, him & my DMum had an Irish account that he's kept so that's one less thing to worry about

Your dad will get a Medical Card because of his age and UK contributions. However, if he wants to take a belt and braces approach, he's some information about private health cover, as you can see even this is a socialised system and ends up being much cheaper than UK equlivant:

www.citizensinformation.ie/en/health/health_insurance/private_health_insurance.html

I found dealing with the Dept of Social Protection, on my parent's behalf, to be a dream, they are friendly, helpful and approachable. Every telephone call has been answered quickly and dealt with efficiently. It's like the exact opposit of the DWP.

The health care system is also wonderful, folks are dealt with as people rather than medical conditions. Ireland is a good place to be an older person.