Irish general practice broadly runs from around 09:00 to 17:00 or 18:00 on weekdays. For the remaining two thirds of the week, a completely separate system takes over — a network of GP out-of-hours co-operatives, each covering its own part of the country under its own name.
Most people meet this system for the first time in the middle of it, at 9pm on a Sunday with a sick child. This guide sets out how it works, who covers where, what it costs, and — the part that matters most — how to tell which of the several available doors is the right one.
Service areas, phone numbers and fees below are as of August 2026 and are set by each co-operative individually. Confirm your local details on the HSE's urgent and emergency care finder before you need them.
When your own surgery is closed, you have four realistic options, and they are not interchangeable.
An online GP consultation sits alongside the fourth of those, and we come to where it does and does not fit further down.
The co-ops are not HSE departments. They are separate organisations, mostly not-for-profit and staffed by local GPs working a rota, contracted to provide urgent care when member practices are closed. That has three consequences worth knowing in advance.
They are appointment-only, by phone. As the HSE states, an out-of-hours GP service is not a walk-in service. You ring, and your call goes to a triage nurse, who takes your details and symptoms and rings you back.
A nurse decides what happens next. Caredoc describes the process plainly: the triage nurse assesses the symptoms and prioritises by urgency, then determines whether you need to be seen or advised, and arranges where and when if a visit is needed. Depending on that assessment you may get telephone advice, an appointment at a treatment centre, or — for people who genuinely cannot travel — a home visit. Home visits are reserved for emergencies and for patients who cannot attend for medical reasons; they are not an alternative to travelling because it is late.
They are for urgent problems, not routine care. A repeat prescription, a routine review, an ongoing issue that has been rumbling for three weeks: these belong with your own GP on Monday. Turning up in the out-of-hours queue with them slows the service down for the person having the worse night.
Do not drive to a treatment centre without ringing first. You will be asked to go back and phone.
Each service has its own name and its own geography. The main ones:
Boundaries follow practice membership rather than tidy county lines, and they change. The HSE's find urgent and emergency care tool will give you the current service and number for your address, and it also lists your nearest injury unit and emergency department. Save the number in your phone now, not at 2am.
If you hold a medical card, a GP visit card or an under-8s card, the out-of-hours consultation is free — bring the valid card with you. Visitors presenting a valid EHIC are likewise treated as entitled.
If you are a private patient, the co-op charges its own consultation fee, and a home visit costs more than attending a treatment centre. Like daytime GP fees, these are not nationally regulated — each co-operative sets and publishes its own, and they are generally higher than a daytime practice fee because the service costs more to run at 3am. Check the fee on your local co-op's own website rather than relying on a figure quoted second-hand; we explain the wider picture in what a GP visit costs in Ireland.
By contrast, the hospital charges are fixed: €100 for an emergency department attendance without a GP referral, and €75 for an injury unit — both waived if you hold a medical card or arrive with a referral letter from a GP, and the emergency department charge is also waived if you are admitted.
The commonest and most expensive mistake is defaulting to the emergency department for a problem that belongs elsewhere. A quick way to think about it:
Call 112 or 999 immediately if there is chest pain or tightness, sudden weakness or drooping on one side of the face or body, difficulty speaking, severe difficulty breathing, heavy bleeding that will not stop, a serious head injury, a seizure that will not stop, unconsciousness, or a person who cannot be roused. Give the Eircode if you have it.
Go to an injury unit for a suspected broken bone, a dislocation, a sprain, a wound that may need closing, a scald or a minor burn. No appointment is required, and it is the purpose-built route for these — you are not queueing behind cardiac cases.
Go to an emergency department for a serious injury or illness that is not a 112 call but is beyond what an injury unit or a GP can handle.
Ring the out-of-hours co-op for the things you would bring to your GP: fever in a child, a suspected infection, severe vomiting, an earache that has escalated, a rash that worries you, a wound check, an acute flare of something you already have, medication you have run out of that you genuinely cannot go without until Monday.
If you cannot tell which category you are in, ring the out-of-hours service and describe it. That is what the triage nurse is for, and being redirected upwards is a normal outcome, not a wasted call.
An online consultation with an Irish-registered GP is a fourth-door option and it suits a specific, real set of situations: you need a clinical assessment, you do not need a physical examination, and you would rather not sit in a waiting room at 9pm — or the nearest treatment centre is an hour away.
It works well for things like a suspected straightforward infection, a medication that has run out, an escalating skin problem you can show clearly on camera, travel or contraception questions, and medical certificates for an absence that started on a Friday. Consultations outside normal hours are from €50; normal-hours consultations are from €35. Bank holidays are covered too — see our bank holiday doctor page.
It is equally important to be clear about what it is not:
Our older guide to evening and weekend GP appointments covers the online route in more detail.
No. The co-ops operate an appointment-only service and you must ring first so a triage nurse can assess you. Arriving unannounced means being asked to phone.
Only where clinically justified — genuine emergencies and patients who cannot travel for medical reasons. It is not a convenience service, and a home visit costs more where a fee applies.
Usually not. It is a local GP working the rota. They will not have your full records in front of them, which is why you should be ready with your medicines, allergies and relevant history.
Yes. A record of the contact is sent to your registered practice, so your own GP knows what happened. This is one reason it is worth being registered with a practice in the first place — see how to get a GP in Ireland.
The co-ops serve their catchment area, so you can generally still be seen, but you lose the continuity that makes the system work. Sorting out a regular GP is worth doing while you are well.
Where the doctor judges it clinically appropriate, yes. Out-of-hours prescribing is deliberately cautious, and quantities may be limited to enough to get you to your own GP. Controlled medicines carry stricter rules again. Our guide to how prescriptions work in Ireland explains the mechanics.
Yes — the €100 charge does not apply if a GP referred you, if you hold a medical card, or if you are admitted. Bring the letter.
If your problem is one a doctor can assess by video or phone, you can book an online consultation with an Irish-registered GP, evenings and weekends included — from €50 outside normal hours and from €35 Monday to Friday, 08:00–17:00. Prescriptions and certificates are issued where clinically appropriate following the consultation.
If this is an emergency, do not book an appointment. Call 112 or 999.
This article is general information about how urgent care is organised in Ireland. It is not medical advice and it cannot tell you how serious your own situation is. If you are worried, ring the out-of-hours service or, in an emergency, 112 or 999.
This article was reviewed by Dr. Shahnawaz, a General Practitioner registered with the Irish Medical Council. The information provided is for educational purposes and does not replace personalised medical advice.
Editorial
The GetYourGP Editorial Team prepares informational health content for GetYourGP.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Shahnawaz on 3 August 2026
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Talk to an Irish-registered GP by video or phone, evenings and weekends. Consultations from €50 outside normal hours. Not for emergencies — call 112 or 999 if it is serious.