HEALTH CARE

As in any country, the largest and most sophisticated health care facilities in Ireland and Northern Ireland are in the larger centres, a consideration to be kept in mind when choosing where to live. There are many excellent health care facilities on the island and not only have many Irish doctors and dentists gained experience in leading centers in North America but also many Canadian doctors have obtained their medical education in Irish medical schools, several hundred Canadians are studying in them now.

Dublin General Practitioner, Dr. Richard Blake, who is a Canadian Embassy Designated Medical Practitioner for health certification for Irish people moving to Canada, spent a year of clinical fellowship in Toronto hospitals, primarily at the former Wellesley Hospital. His wife, Dr. Marielle Blake, completed a post-graduate orthodontics degree at the University of Toronto, which study included related experience at Toronto's 'Sick Kids'.

Ireland has a two-tier health care system; a private practitioner and hospital system that provides quickly accessible service and a public system that is characterized by waiting lists, a complaint with which Canadians are all too familiar. Doctors are organized into two broad categories: GPs and Consultants (specialists) whose fees are considerably higher than GP fees. Doctors' offices are called "surgeries".

Ireland requires that those moving to it demonstrate their ability to provide for themselves, including evidence of health insurance. Health insurance pays for many things, including pretty much everything that happens in a hospital. It does NOT, however, pay for the full cost of doctor visits and tests done via the doctor's office; it is expected that the costs of those visits and tests will be paid for at the time of the visit. Note also that there can be significant waiting periods before coverage takes effect for pre-existing conditions.

There is some State assistance for residents with specified long-term illnesses and for prescription drugs costs beyond a maximum specified from time to time. Health care costs not covered by insurers can be taken into account in calculating income tax liability.

Health care insurers in Ireland include both the semi-state VHI (Voluntary Health Insurance) and private carriers. One should consider obtaining the highest level of coverage since, once enrolled, it is possible to 'size down' one's coverage but it may be difficult to raise it.

In addition to the Irish alternatives, Canadians moving to Ireland should consider health insurers outside Ireland that offer worldwide coverage. This is important if the move to Ireland might be followed by a move elsewhere, say, to the Bahamas, since a pre-existing condition could arise whilst living in Ireland.