Irish section

[hollyisalovelyname]

I see Northern Irish posters are looking for their own section on Mumsnet.
May we have an Irish section please ?There appear to be lots of Irish posters on this brilliant forum.

'Nother vote for the hot press

And Mary- I m here to give the obligatory kicking on the north side beaches (though there has been a no swim there
In the last weeks or so..) but they re gorgeous!

Another vote for the Hot Press (did I say that already?). Although I did like the idea of The Immersion. We were away this weekend, and on arrival DH turned to me and asked "did you turn the immersion off?" just to see the momentary look of horror on my face. it was off

Here you go Craicnet

Enjoy

Thanks Rebecca!

Thanks Mumsnet.

Cait why are prescription medicines so expensive in Ireland compared with many other away countries and UK ?

Thanks Mumsnet!

Holly the price for prescription medicines is negotiated every few years between the government (HSE) and the various stakeholders, ie the pharma companies, wholesalers, pharmacists. Historically the prices have been comparatively high due to not great negotiation on the government side.

Having said that, prices for old medicines have dropped substantially in the last few years. The mark up paid at wholesale & pharmacy level for the various schemes (eg medical card) has also been reduced significantly. We are still paying high prices for new medicines though. Each new medicine must have their price approved individually by the HSE before launch.

Thanks middlings and cmere that's helpful

Middlings we did find schools but had to go the fee paying route

Thank you Cait.
It's very annoying though for Irish people who feel they are being ripped off, whatever the cause.

Whispering if you've ended up in the co-ed fee paying school in Booterstown then you've done well. It's a great school and I hope your DC will be very happy there.

Cait is some of it due to the size of the market? The NHS presumably has much better buying power as they buy more in bulk.

That said Holly you get what you're given in the UK in most cases. I had IVF treatment and had someone say to me that I might be better off on another drug but they couldn't give it to me whereas when I went private, I could have what I wanted. The way it works is that if you don't fall within a particular category, you pay the standard prescription charge for anything (currently £8 something). I was pregnant or within a year of giving birth for just over two years so everything was free in that time - was a shock when I had to go back to paying the charge!

Whispering the GP charges are hard after living in the UK. However, the NHS and the HSE have a reciprocal agreement which means UK residents don't pay for GP visits in Ireland, you just have to fill in a form with your NHS number.

Whispering the GP charges are hard after living in the UK. However, the NHS and the HSE have a reciprocal agreement which means UK residents don't pay for GP visits in Ireland, you just have to fill in a form with your NHS number

Not if you are long time resident in Ireland though surely? Just for visitors I would have thought?

Aw deadly. Cheers MNHQ.

Yes - it's just for UK residents so anyone going for a holiday and also when Whispering first arrives, before she registers, she could claim under her UK GP.

Middlings yes some of the high prices are due to market size. For example the Irish pharma market is smaller than that of Manchester. Not in all cases though as it is sometimes possible to have joint UK and Irish packaging so manufacturing costs are the same.

The agreement re GP visits and medicines being paid for us actually an EU wide scheme (formerly known as E111). Assume that Brexit will eventually affect this...

And should have said holly I totally understand your frustration. I pay for our family prescriptions and it is ouch! For many years huge mark ups were being made all along the supply chain. It has been cut back big time in recent years but the main savings are to the govt schemes, the private patient hasn't seen much change

I name changed since I'm sure I'll end up outing myself

Middling we're not at the co-ed, I liked the idea but they wouldn't even see us as no spaces in any of the three years we required. Instead we're going to be juggling two different schools - no idea how how that'll work out or what the DC will make of single sex schools.

Re Drs although I'm a Londoner we're coming from Asia so unfortunately well used to paying for visits even with health insurance.

Cait in my experience the GP scheme falls outside the EHIC scheme. I don't have to produce my EHIC at all like I would in say, France or Spain. Just my NHS number, which is not on my EHIC at all (I just checked). I last used a GP in Ireland in October of last year so well after the E111 went and the EHIC came in.

Dublin I know someone who a couple of years ago was in a similar situation to you. If I can do it without outing myself, I'd be happy to put you in touch. PM me if you want and I'll try and sell you as a friend of a friend rather than a random off the internet!!

Sorry....my point was, hopefully the GP scheme will survive Brexit if it's a bi-lateral one!

Yay- 12 threads going in Craicnet.
Beams proudly.
Thank you Mumsnet.