The average private GP fee in Ireland has been reported between €33-€53 since 2003, with surveys finding averages of €51 in 2010, €46.26 in 2013, and €49.36 in 2014. However, when accounting for reduced fees, family visits, and national income and expenditure data, the estimated true average fee is around €35 per consultation. Factoring in data on private patient numbers and non-fee consultations, the estimated total cost per non-state paid private consultation is €32.33 when including full fees and reduced/no cost visits.

1. Private GP Fees inIreland
Dr WilliamBehan2017
A review of independent survey, CSO payments/CPI data and also European Health
Observatory data.
The average standard private General Practice Fees have been reported in the literature
many times since 2003.
2003 - Indecon Economic Consultants: €33;
2003 - National General Practice Information Technology Group: €36;
2005 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners: €35-€50 (Taken from Nolan et al. ESRI
2007) specifically commented "repeat and family visits may be charged a
reduced rate"
2009 - ESRI (Layte et al): €40-45.
2010 - The National Consumer Agency Doctors and Dentists Survey covered 123
practices nationally and the average price, across all survey locations, for a
routine examination was €51. It noted that at national level the range was
significant, from €35 to €70;
2013 - The average national cost of going to see the doctor was reported in
TheJournal.ie as being €46.26, according to a new survey by Laya Healthcare.
This was an online research poll of 501 parents with children under 18 who hold
private health insurance found that Dublin has the most expensive GP visit costs,
with an average consultation fee of €53.29. People in the west and northwest
are paying the lowest GP costs at an average of €45.61.";
2014 - Whatclinic.com survey of 650 surgeries the average price of a standard
consultation fee was found to be €49.36.
2014 - Another survey by the Irish Independent of over 100 practices countrywide found
the average cost of attending a GP to be €49.
The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies ‘Health Systems in Transition
Ireland: Health System Review 2009’ report was authored by London School of
Economics/ESRI/Trinity Health Economists. It served to influence international perceptions
about Irish general practice and subsequent FEMPI reductions when it referenced Irish
private fees with “the full consultation fee perhaps being between €60 and €80.”1 The OECD
has quite clear guidelines when referring to general practice fees: “It is important to focus
on the concept of a mean price, which is not the same as the typical or median price”.2 In
Ireland this would include standard fees, nurse fees, reduced and no fees for review
1
Br J Gen Pract. 2013 Nov;63(616):e742-50. doi: 10.3399/bjgp13X674422.
The strength of primary care in Europe: an international comparative study.
Kringos D1, Boerma W, Bourgueil Y, Cartier T, Dedeu T, Hasvold T, Hutchinson A, Lember
M, Oleszczyk M, Rotar Pavlic D, Svab I, Tedeschi P, Wilm S, Wilson A, Windak A, Van der Zee
J, Groenewegen P.
2 OECD Health WorkingPapers No. 52 GUIDELINES FOR IMPROVING THE COMPARABILITY AND AVAILABILITY
OF PRIVATE HEALTH EXPENDITURES UNDER THE SYSTEM OF HEALTH ACCOUNTS FRAMEWORK
DELSA/HEA/WD/HWP(2010)3

2. consultations, joint consultations and for patients in financial difficulty. In some practices
children are charged at a lower rate than adults. Also, when children attend their GP,
multiple children are more likely to be formally examined in one consultation compared to
when an adult attends and they are more likely to be reviewed for no charge. Therefor the
true average fee would be about €35 per consultation but we probably do not have the
same extent of supplier induced demand as occurs in Europe in their fee-per-item,
insurance payer systems. Ireland is unusual by European standards because the private
patient is usually fully responsible for the GPs private fees. Unlike elsewhere in Europe when
the fees are partially or totally reimbursed so they are more likely to be charged.
The 2004-05 CSO Household Budget Survey of 6,884 households which found on 2 week
assessment that the average Irish household spent €3.71 on doctors’ fees (possibly net of
low proportion health insurance refunds but includes hospital consultant private
fees)suggested an average annual household expenditure on GP fees of €192.92 by an
average household composition of 2.73 individuals, which was very similar to the national
household composition.3,4 Combine that with 2006 CSO data on number of private
households of 1,469,521 = total national spend of €283.5m on all doctors’ fees by a private
population.
Total national population in 2006 = 4,239,848, minus GMS population 2006 from PCRS =
GMS 1,221,695 GPVC 51,760: Private population of 2.97 million, resulting in a spend per
private patient of €95 per annum in a survey demanding 2 week recollection by a proxy
respondent.
Combining that €95 per annum with the 2-week recollection 44,844 sample population 2001
CSO figure (Not the 2001 Trinity/ESRI 1-year recall 6,521 population Living In Ireland Survey
figures for 2001) for GP attendance rates
http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/releasespublications/documents/labourmarket/
2001/qnhs_healthqtr32001.pdf
with the private medical cover/neither GP attendance rate of 3.46
http://www.imo.ie/news-media/publications/NovemberDecember-2013-IMJ.pdf
results in an average fee of €27.50.
This correlates very well with the Nolan et al. ESRI 2007 figure of €35-€50 standard fee
corrected by the OECD recommendation of focusing on the concept of a mean price, which
is not the same as the typical or median price. (OECD Health Working Paper, No. 52
“Guidelines for Improving the Comparability and Availability of Private Health Expenditures
Under the System of Health Accounts Framework”).
3 http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/releasespublications/documents/housing/hbsfinal/webcomplete.pdf
4
http://www.cso.ie/quicktables/GetQuickTables.aspx?FileName=CNA33.asp&TableName=Number+of+private+
households+and+persons+in+private+households+in+each+Province+,+County+and+City&StatisticalProduct=D
B_CN

3. The 2015 CSO HBS found the average weekly household expenditure on 09.01.04 Doctor
(not consultant) was €2.08.
This revised calculation is based on diary data exclusively, i.e. the figure is based on the
exact expenditure as recorded by households over a 2 week period. Questionnaire data has
not been utilised.
This expenditure amount is more in line with expectation, i.e. the increase in number of
medical/GP cards since 09/10 and the introduction of free GP care for under sixes has
contributed to the overall decrease in household expenditure on non-consultant doctor
fees.
It results in a national out of pocket GP payment of €184 million (€100 million less than 2005
oop). TILDA data suggests a GP top-up of up to €20 million from health insurance
companies.
Healthy Ireland 2015 suggests a private adult GP attendance rate of 2.9 and Healthy Ireland
suggests a GP nurse attendance rate of about 0.5 for this population resulting in a total
attendance rate of 3.4.5,6
CSO end-April 2015 national population estimate: 4,635,4007
PCRS average 2014 and 2015 GMS populations: 2,047.2788
Private population mid 2015: 2,566,183
Total private patient consultations 2015: 3.4 x 2,047.278 = 6,960,745
However, PrimaryChildhoodImmunisationScheme(e.180,000“private”patientsconsultations
paidfor bythe state), the Health(Amendment) Act1996, Heartwatch (e.10,000), Methadone
TreatmentScheme (e. 20,000) and National CancerScreeningService (e.140,000). Mother and
Child Scheme (e. 300,000 visits) totals 650,000 “private patient” consultations which do not
accrue a private consultation fee. 9
5 https://health.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Healthy-Ireland-Survey-2015-Summary-of-Findings.pdf
6 https://health.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Healthy-Ireland-Survey-2016-Summary-Findings.pdf
7 https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/er/pme/populationandmigrationestimatesapril2015/
8 https://www.hse.ie/eng/staff/pcrs/pcrs-publications/pcrs-statistical-analysis-of-claims-and-payments-
2015.pdf
9 Payments to GPs includes reimbursement of claims in respectof services provided to Medical Card and GP
VisitCardholders.Reimbursement of claims madeby GPs includes expenditure of €7,699,536 under the
Primary Childhood Immunisation Scheme; €190,246 under the Health (Amendment) Act 1996;€1,060,714 for
Heartwatch; €12,212,648 for the National Cancer ScreeningService and €7,558,220 under the Methadone
Treatment Scheme. Taken from https://www.hse.ie/eng/staff/pcrs/pcrs-publications/pcrs-statistical-analysis-
of-claims-and-payments-2015.pdf

4. Total cost per non-state paid private consultation including full standard fees, reduced
fees, no-charges and nurse fees = €204 million/6,310,000 consultations
= €32.33 per private visit extrapolating from HSE PCRS, Healthy Ireland 2015, CSO
Household Budget Survey and national census data.