Moving to Donegal - Repeat Prescriptions

ohridlady

Hi there, have had a lot of help on these forums about moving to Letterkenny and wonder if I could ask something else.

My husband needs a repeat prescription every month for two drugs which he has taken for the last 33 years.

We have British passports but would obviously have an address in Eire. Can anyone help me with what might be the procedure in this case. If we tried to register with a doctor in NI we wouldn't have a NI address.

Many thanks

Domscard

You will need to register with a doctor here to get a new prescription, but if you're moving here you'd need to do that anyway. If you qualify for a medical card, I understand that there's only a small charge to purchase your prescribed medications in a chemist. If you don't, you will have to pay up to about €90 per month (I'm not sure the exact limit) and after that there is no further charge.
As far as I know, chemists here will not fill prescriptions from anywhere else, though I think that UK prescriptions can be filled in the north. As I'm sure the prescription you have will need to be renewed at some point by a doctor, it will still mean getting registered here.

ohridlady

Hi there, thanks for your help.

We don't actually have a prescription - we have to get one each month to take to the chemist.

We have a letter from our doctor which confirms the medication required each month and then we need the actual prescription to get the medication.

Do you know what we might need to qualify for a medical card? I am 61 and my husband is 64.

We have lived abroad for a few years and the letter was enough to get us the prescription just by going to a local doctor or hospital and paying a small fee. The drugs themselves are not expensive usually.

Many thanks

muffler

You can view details of the medical card scheme here

Domscard

This is another useful link from Citizen's Information - a great site:
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/health/entitlement-to-health-services/medical_card

Domscard

This link about long term illness might also apply to you if your husband's illness is one of those mentioned:
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/health/health-related-benefits-and-entitlements/long_term_illness_scheme

He could qualify to have his medications supplied almost free - I think the small charge is either in or pending for this scheme too. And the drugs payment scheme only kicks in over €120 :eek: - the limit was raised a while back and catches up with/exceeds our spend every time

Essexboy

If a person belongs to one of the following groups, they will get a medical card under EU Regulations:
· Living in Ireland and receiving a social security payment from another European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEU) country or Switzerland and you are not getting an Irish social welfare payment (excluding from Child Benefit or Early Childcare Supplement). You must not be liable to contribute to the Irish Social Welfare System e.g. PRSI.
· Living in Ireland and working in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland and are liable to pay Social Insurance Contributions in that country.
· Living in Ireland and you are the dependant spouse or child of someone employed in another EU/EEA country and Switzerland. A person must not get an Irish Social Welfare Payment apart from child benefit or early childcare supplement and must not be liable to contribute to the Irish social welfare system.

http://www.noeldempsey.ie/index.php/useful-information/rules-for-over-70s-medical-card

ohridlady

Hi there, thank you all so much for the information. It has been really helpful and I think we will be ok. The only thing about the medical card info is it says for over 70 but my husband is not that!!

Is it possible to find out the cost of electricity - say per kwh so that we can make some comparisons? Should I post another thread on that?

Many, many thanks again.

Dun

The main Electricity provider in Ireland is the ESB. Here's their pricing page:
https://www.esb.ie/esbcustomersupply/residential/your_account/pricing.jsp

Bord Gais also supply electricity, and I think there may be another one, but I'm not sure if it depends on your geographic location or if you can choose wherever you are.