IRELAND | Emergency | General information
Emergency phone numbers: 999 or 112
In Ireland you dial 999 or 112 to be connected to an Emergency Service. You are then asked which service you require:
- Ambulance
- Fire Brigade
- Police/Garda
- Lifeboat
- Mountain/Coastal Rescue
- Other
It is important to remember that the police in Ireland are called the Gardai and are based in Garda stations throughout the country – www.garda.ie . Please remember to give precise locations and addresses when calling the emergency service. Calls to this service are free of charge and are recorded.
There are also freefone numbers for ESB (electricity) and Bord Gais (gas) companies. For more information on these services see:
Medical emergencies
In Ireland doctors are called GPs (General Practitioners). You usually have to make an appointment and to pay for their services even if you have a European Health Insurance Card and medical insurance (you can then claim the amount back on return to your home country). You are strongly advised to check out the situation before arrival in Ireland. If you have had an accident you can go the Accident and Emergency (A & E) unit of a hospital but treatment can be slow and you might have to wait for several hours or longer.
In relation to private insurance check on insurance cover prior to departure. There are several companies which offer private insurance to cover personal accident, personal liability, repatriation and serious illness cover. It is recommended that the trainee is adequately insured prior to departure
The European Health Insurance Card will replace the forms (E111 - holidays and E128 - study and employees posted to another country) currently used to authorise the treatment of the nationals of one Member State in another Member State of the Union www.ehic.ie . The card will be introduced at different dates in the Member States beginning 01.06.2004. Prior to departure trainees should inquire in their home countries as to the availability of the card. Ffor details on receiving medical treatment in Ireland see:
Important Documents
You should photocopy the relevant pages of your passport in case of loss or theft and should note the contact number of the relevant embassy/consulate in Dublin. Loss of credit cards should be reported immediately to the hotline of the appropriate credit card company.